Despite the decrease in the number of visitors as compared to the same period last year, it has still brought about an encouraging signal to revitalise domestic tourism after experiencing months in “hibernation” mode.
Kien Giang Province greeted 37,700 holiday makers during the four-day holiday with none of them being international travellers. The figure was much lower than in previous years, but it was a positive sign compared to the weeks pior when popular tourist sites in the province were deserted due to fear of COVID-19.
A decrease in the number of holiday-makers was also seen in Ninh Thuan Province, which was visited by a total of 30,000 tourists during the holiday, only half the figure of 2019; as well as in Da Lat City (Lam Dong Province), Binh Thuan Province and Quang Binh Province, which welcomed 58,000, 35,000 and 35,000 visitors, respectively, on the occasion.
As the holiday fell as the beginning of the summer vacation period, many tourists flocked to beaches to cool down in the summer heat. Sam Son Beach in Thanh Hoa Province was crowded with thousands of vacationers. Up to 55,000 of the 110,000 tourists to Nghe An Province decided to spend their holiday at Cua Lo Beach, while the remainder went to other popular places of interest in the locality.
A range of quick-witted promotional programmes and services to lure visitors have been launched in many localities. Recently, the Quang Binh Provincial People’s Committee greenlighted Oxalis Adventure Tours, the leading jungle and cave adventure tour operator in Vietnam, to lower the price of the tour ‘Conquering Son Doong – the world’s largest cave’ from US$3,000 to US$2,500 per tourist from May 15 to December 31, 2020.
Thanh Hoa provincial authorities have also called on businesses, accommodations and tourist service providers to offer discount pricing to visitors to the province.
Hotels, homestays, tour operators and tourism destinations in Sa Pa Township in northern Lao Cai Province will reduce service prices by between 30% and 60%. The Sun World Fansipan Legend tourist resort has also offered a discount of up to 60% on Fansipan cable car tickets for travellers from the six north western provinces of Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Son La, Dien Bien, Yen Bai and Hoa Binh.
Meanwhile, Thua Thien Hue provincial authorities have decided to offer a 50% discount on entrance fees to local monuments in Hue City for three months, from May 8 to July 31, in a bid to attract visitors.
At a time when the world continues to struggle in the fight against COVID-19 with many complicated and unpredictable developments, stimulating domestic tourism is now a feasible solution to revive the hospitality sector during the post-pandemic period and help it to regain its pace of growth.
