Ha Noi expects to welcome 10-11 million domestic tourist arrivals
VGP – The Ha Noi Department of Tourism has said that in the remaining months of 2020, the capital city strives to welcome a greater number of domestic visitors than the same period last year, estimated at 10-11 million arrivals.
According to the department’s statistics, domestic arrivals to relics, museums and tourist attractions in the city on the first days of reopening were only equal to about 20% of the figure recorded in pre-pandemic times.
Tran Duc Hai, director of the department, said that the local tourist industry has thoroughly grasped the spirit of actively implementing tasks in the normal period, restarting activities to revive tourism, and ensuring safety regarding COVID-19 prevention and control in a new normalcy.
The department has also developed a plan to effectively implement the program “Vietnamese people travel in Viet Nam”, recently launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in a number of key tourist areas to soon restore and promote the local tourism sector.
At present, tourism businesses in Ha Noi are going ahead with a plan to restart the market and stimulate travel needs among domestic tourists this summer. In this regard, the city has a big advantage as its visitors come from all the 62 cities and provinces nationwide.
Ha Noi will continue to focus on boosting cultural tourism and encouraging businesses to develop new tourist products as well as upgrade the old ones. In particular, top priority will be given to promoting tourism in My Duc and Ba Vi districts.
In addition to safe products, travel companies are instructed to offer affordable prices and add new products and services to expand and arouse the needs of tourists. The department has directed travel agencies and relevant establishments (accommodation, transportation, shopping and food) to promptly recover and stabilize their production and business activities; further invest in improving the quality of tourism products; design and implement tourism stimulus plans; and strengthen linkages and cooperation in developing tourism in the region and the world.
In the first four months of 2020, tourist arrivals to Ha Noi plunged 59.2% year-on-year to 3.89 million, causing tourism revenues to fall 53.2% to VND15.83 trillion (US$675.72 million).
During the January - April period, the number of domestic tourists to Ha Noi stood at 2.92 million, down by 59.5% year-on-year, while the number of foreign tourists to the city fell 58.2% to a mere 964,500.
In April alone, tourist arrivals in Ha Noi fell 98.4% year-on-year to more than 35,500, leading to a 98.3% year-on-year decrease in tourism revenue to VND143 billion (US$6.1 million).
By Vien Nhu
