In his opening speech, Nhan Dan Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Le Quoc Minh said that on October 11, the Vietnamese Government issued Resolution No. 128/NQ-CP on temporary guidelines on safe, flexible and effective adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to protect people’s health and lives, socio-economic development, and the bringing of life back to normal as soon as possible.
“This opened up the opportunity for the tourism sector to resume service on both the domestic and international markets,” he said.
He expressed his hope that the opinions collected by participants at the seminar will contribute to the tourism sector’s recovery in the “new normal”.
Speaking at the event, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a tough impact on the socio-economic situation and the tourism sector in particular, not only in Vietnam but also around the world.
Vietnam’s hospitality sector has been hit hard by the pandemic since 2020, he said, reporting that last year witnessed a sharp decrease of up to 80% in the number of international arrivals, with most tourist activities being frozen.
Delegates at the event.
Given the situation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has promptly made proposals to the Government to work out policies and mechanisms supporting localities to rejuvenate tourism and help travel businesses overcome this difficult period of time.
Accordingly, the Ministry has proposed a reduction on electricity bills for accommodation establishments, the provision of financial support for tour guide swhile helping remove difficulties facing travel businesses.
The Ministry has also actively worked with the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs to take measures to prevent disruption to human resource training activities for travel firms.
Delegates at the seminar discussed how COVID-19 has affected Vietnam’s tourism sector over the past two years and the changes in people’s travel behaviours and habits due the pandemic as well as suggesting solutions to facilitate the sector’s safe adaption to COVID-19.
