Tourism sector discusses solutions to increase revenue

A conference was held in Ho Chi Minh City on February 20 by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and the municipal Department of Tourism on February 20 to discuss solutions in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu speaks at the conference. (Photo: VNA)

At the event, Deputy General Director of the VNAT Ha Van Sieu said that the tourism sector is aiming to develop a set of travel safety standards to break down the psychological barriers for people and tourists during the current period.

It is crucial to boost promotion activities to overcome consequences as well as regain and maintain the confidence of international visitors following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The sector will also stimulate domestic tourism as well as remove difficulties in terms of destinations, enterprises and service business facilities in the localities.

A representative from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said that the city will implement tourism promotion programmes from April to July. Many preferential and discount services, tours and airfares will be offered to attract more visitors.

Many travel agencies will also devise tourism programmes to Mekong delta and south eastern provinces.

Besides, many tourism associations and businesses in several localities area ready to implement promotional programmes.

However, many experts said that the tourism sector should consider the promotion of domestic tourism in the current context.

In addition, it is essential for tourism agencies and enterprises to prioritise the markets with robust growth such as the Republic of Korea, Japan and Northeast Asia region, and develop new markets like India.

According to the VNAT, the COVID-19 epidemic could cause losses of 5.9-7.7 billion USD for the domestic tourism sector in the next three months.

The tourism sector estimated a 90 percent decrease in the number of Chinese visitors due to the disease, and a 50-70 percent drop in the number of holidaymakers from other countries.

Meanwhile, the number of domestic holidaymakers is likely to suffer a fall of 50-70 percent./.



Source: VNA