Domestic tourists visiting Hue during the holidays 30/4 and 1/5 this year
On the afternoon of May 6, Vietnam Tourism Association organized an online conference to listen to the difficulties of local tourism businesses; at the same time, gather the solutions to build a tourism stimulus package for the whole tourism industry in Vietnam in the upcoming time.
Having started the "campaign" since mid-May
20 days have passed since Vietnam recorded no new cases of COVID-19 infection in the community. This is the time when the country's tourism needs a strategy and a recovery plan, especially in the context that most international tourists will not come to Vietnam in 2020 and domestic tourists will be "the solution" for the whole industry.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Tho, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said that although the tourism industry had implemented certain stimulus measures before, it was clear that the disease had a greater "devastating effect" than initially predicted. At the time of restarting as at present, there must be a strategy with a synchronous stimulus package throughout the country; focusing on domestic tourists with the main products such as heritage tourism, beaches tourism, ecology tourism, community tourism, resort, etc., limiting travelling to many places and ensuring the safest criteria.
Mr. Vu The Binh, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Tourism Association and President of Vietnam Tourism Association said that localities in the country basically exploited domestic tourists again from the beginning of the last holiday on April 30 and May 1, but the service and exploitation are still quite perplexed. Therefore, there is a requirement that the activities must be in order, under control, and absolutely ensured of safety and disease prevention principles.
Vietnam Tourism Association affirmed that the national “stimulus strategy” must be implemented from mid-May 2020. There will be clusters of destinations to focus on building the appropriate stimulus package such as Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, etc. Especially the Central area, namely Quang Binh, Hue, Quang Nam and Da Nang, must be the key destinations in the near future.
To be able to "stimulate" the interest of domestic tourists, in addition to the synchronization of localities with attractive promotion packages, it is necessary to have a large and methodical promotion campaign throughout the country. The most important thing is still transmitting the message about safe-destinations. In addition, the consensus and support of localities to jointly exploit the stimulus package were also emphasized.
Hue is ready
In Hue, tourism activities have been restarted since the end of April 2020, starting at the last holidays of April 30 and May 1. The number of tourists to Hue is also fairly recorded.
Provincial Tourism Association informing to partners throughout the country that Hue is ready to welcome guests back with the most attractive stimulus package
Having informed to Vietnam Tourism Association and all businesses in the country, Mr. Dinh Manh Thang, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Tourism Association and Chairman of Thua Thien Hue Tourism Association said that to increase the possibility of attracting tourists during the upcoming time, travel and transport agencies in Hue will reduce 20% of the service price, the hotel has a “3-night stay with a charge of 2 nights” policy, heritage attractions discount up to 50% of the price from now until the end of August 2020, at the same time, the quality of services continues to be improved. Therefore, Hue is ready for cooperation with businesses throughout the country to welcome visitors back.
The Hue Tourism Association also informed that they has built a number of new routes with the theme "Hue is not just a heritage" with eco-tourism tours in A Luoi, Nam Dong, Phu Loc and a bunch of tours to Tam Giang - Cau Hai lagoon. In addition, the three localities "Hue - Da Nang - Quang Nam" have built a stimulus product with a 4-day-3-night tour, highlighting the culture, heritage and nature discovery.
As many enterprises think that it would be very difficult for enterprises to deploy flexible stimulus packages if local governments are not involved, Thua Thien Hue Tourism Association affirms that local authorities in Hue are very interested in understanding the difficulties, and are certain to accompany the enterprises so that inquiries and difficulties will all be tackled in time.
Mr. Dinh Manh Thang proposed to the Vietnam Tourism Association to implement a stimulus solution not only for any locality but also for the whole country and in various fields. No matter what good policy to ensure safety the tourism industry has, it will still be difficult to exploit well the in-coming and out-going tourists unless the aviation industry and transportation services accompany the cause. The aviation industry has to start joining from the beginning, making sacrifices in the immediate future so that both industries can gain long-term benefits.
According to the Vietnam Tourism Association, Hue's initiative is very necessary and it helps Vietnam Tourism Association to proactively develop a common plan for the whole industry. The solutions and stimulus packages of Hue will be informed to the members of the association to build a tour to Hue in the shortest time.
Story and photos: Duc Quang