Businesses expect tourism market to get up steam in Quarter II

The National Tourism Administration of Vietnam reports that more than six million Vietnamese people selected to travel to domestic destinations during the recent nine-day lunar New Year holiday.

Statistics from local agencies show Phu Quoc resort in Kien Giang province welcomed more than 120,000 visitors, while Khanh Hoa served about 98,000 holidaymakers. This is a good signal for the tourism sector, offering the prospect for a positive recovery in 2022.

Tran Doan The Duy, general director of Vietravel, said that the government has eased travel restrictions since it adopted the strategy of living safely with the pandemic late last year, creating conditions for tourism services to get back on track.

Besides traditional and package tours, Vietravel has anticipated a new trend by launching combos of air ticket and hotel room or car rental. It has also provided retail services and changes in distribution channels, offering online services to better suit customers during the pandemic period.

Sharing the view, Mauro Gasparotti, director of Savills Hotels Asia - Pacific, said the tourism sector is showing positive signs of recovery, noting that people have high demand for travel after months of restrictions due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to high vaccination coverage, individual and family tours will recover first, while group tours will need more time to return to pre-pandemic levels, said Gasparotti.

For international tourism, Vietravel CEO Tran Doan The Duy pointed out that inbound and outbound tours are demonstrating signs of recovery though they need more time to pick up steam.

Vietnam has attracted approximately 150,000 foreign travelers under a pilot scheme to welcome back foreign travelers with vaccine passports that started in mid-November 2021. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam’s recent decision to reopen all international air routes starting on February 15 is expected to support the tourism sector’s recovery efforts.

However, health quarantine and visa policies are major barriers to attracting foreign tourists to Vietnamese destinations. For instance, many foreign travelers hesitate to choose Vietnam as a destination as they are required to self-isolate at their places of residence for a period of three days.

In addition, Vietnam has so far recognized vaccine passports of nearly 80 countries and territories, while only 14 countries have approved its similar document. In Southeast Asia alone, Singapore has yet to recognize Vietnam’s vaccine passport. The Republic of Korea, Japan and China have also yet to fully open their door to tourism with Vietnam, according to the Vietravel CEO.

International tourism needs more time to recover to pre-pandemic levels, said CEO Tran Doan The Duy from Vietravel.

To help the tourism sector get back on track, experts and leaders of travel firms requested at a recent meeting that the government should relax health quarantine and visa policies so that Vietnam can keep up with the recovery trend and does not lose out to regional rivals.