Ha Noi to implement targeted tourism stimulus measures
VGP – In the opening months of 2020, Ha Noi’s t ourism has heavily been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; however, with targeted stimulus measures, the capital city’s tourism industry is predicted to accumulate enough resources for recovery by the end of the year.
Seriously affected
Tourist arrivals to Ha Noi in the January-June period are estimated at 4.93 million, a year-on-year decrease of 65.4%, including approximately 987,000 international arrivals, down 68.8%, and about 3.95 million domestic arrivals, down 64.4%.
Total revenue from visitors is estimated to reach VND18.9 trillion (US$810,76 million), down 61.5% over the same period last year, or VND30.23 trillion (US$1.3 billion).
In June, the average occupancy of rooms in one-star to five-star hotels is estimated at about 29.18%, up 9.92% compared to the previous month and down 38.22% year-on-year.
Improving quality of services
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry is opening new trends that require businesses to move to adapt to, with tourism safety becoming the top concern of travelers, alongside the trend of choosing nearby destinations, short-term tourism in small groups, and individual tourism.
“In the context of the disease having basically been controlled in Viet Nam, but still proceeding complicatedly in the European and American markets and countries in the region, the domestic tourism market is likely to recover faster. This is also one of the beneficial factors for tourism recovery in Viet Nam in general and Ha Noi in particular,” said Tran Duc Hai, director of the Ha Noi Tourism Department.
On the basis of predicting the situation and sticking to the socio-economic development management scenario, the Ha Noi Department of Tourism will focus on implementing measures to restore local tourism activities under the stages of reviving the domestic and international tourist markets.
In the last months of the year, Ha Noi strives to welcome the highest number of domestic visitors compared to the same period in 2019 (estimated at 10-11 million arrivals).
To achieve the aforementioned goal, the Ha Noi Department of Tourism will strengthen the development and improvement of the quality of cultural tourism products, such as tourist destinations associated with heritages, festival relics, craft villages and cuisine; agricultural tourism; and community-based tourism.
In addition, the agency will accelerate the progress of investment projects to develop tourist sites and areas; direct travel companies and accommodation, transportation, shopping and food establishments to invest in enhancing the quality of tourism products; support businesses to implement tourism promotion activities; and cooperate with localities, airlines and tourism service providers to develop targeted stimulus products to boost the attraction of domestic visitors.
To get ready to welcome international tourists at an appropriate time, Ha Noi will continue to advertise the image of its tourism globally, with a focus on drawing visitors from such markets as Europe, Australia, the United States, India and Northeast Asia.
By Vien Nhu
