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On the afternoon of February 18, at a tourism seminar titled “Safe and Effective Reopening: Golden Opportunity for Vietnamese Tourism” held at FLC Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh, delegates focused on analyzing factors such as the context, timing, and resources.
Vice Chairman of the Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee, Lam Hai Giang, emphasized the practical significance of the seminar “Safe and Effective Reopening: Golden Opportunity for Vietnamese Tourism” for state agencies, aiming to early unify the direction to restore the tourism economy, laying the foundation for economic recovery and social development. Opening up economic development linked with investment, ensuring social security is a problem that needs solutions from state management agencies.
'The reopening policy must be proven justified'
During the seminar, addressing the urgent need for a comprehensive international reopening for the tourism sector, Mr. Vu The Binh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, stated that as of now, the government has decided to fully reopen tourism by March 15, but the specific roadmap and solutions are still unclear. Therefore, today's seminar will delve into more specific discussions about the roadmap for a comprehensive, safe reopening of tourism, especially concerning the international market in the upcoming period, as well as what preparations localities and businesses need to make to welcome the international tourism wave.
Mr. Vu The Binh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association. (Photo: Nguyen Hoang Son).
“Reopening tourism is very urgent. Opening tourism will lead to the opening of many other sectors. Not only in Vietnam, when the tourism industry is affected, other sectors are also affected, and this is the case in many countries around the world,” Mr. Binh raised the issue.
In this context, with the support of ministries, localities, and businesses, the government has quickly made the decision to reopen tourism activities. This demonstrates the government's listening to the people and businesses.
“Once the government has agreed, we need to figure out how to reopen quickly. Of course, there are still many differing opinions, but looking at the global perspective, the decision to reopen Vietnam should also be made,” Mr. Binh expressed his viewpoint.
Mr. Binh added: “We are confident in the government's decision to reopen, confident in the abundant and diverse resources, and in Vietnam's image that has been spread internationally. During the recent Lunar New Year holiday, we saw a massive number of people traveling, with over 6 million passengers in just 9 days. This demonstrates that people are ready to respond. That is an advantage.
However, on the flip side, we also have weaknesses, such as being less sharp in some areas like the determination to reopen. We are very cautious in our statements about reopening. If the government does not show determination to reopen, the people cannot follow suit.
Another weakness is the lack of consistency in policies among localities, such as quarantine policies for residents and entry-exit policies for tourists.
At this point, the responsibility lies with tourism businesses to prove that the reopening policy is correct. We must be stronger and more determined.
From a local perspective, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Vu, Chairman of the Binh Dinh Tourism Association, expressed that the reopening on March 15 is a favorable time for tourism, given the new normal situation and Vietnam's high vaccination coverage. “Binh Dinh is ready to welcome visitors with refined and unique local products,” Mr. Vu said.
Mr. Tran Van Thanh, Director of the Binh Dinh Department of Tourism, stated that during the recent Lunar New Year holiday, the number of tourists to the province increased rapidly. In just 7 days, the province welcomed nearly 160,000 visitors, a 40% increase compared to the same period in 2021.
Mr. Do Viet Hung, Deputy General Director of FLC Group Joint Stock Company, mentioned that the government's approval of the proposal to reopen tourism from March 15 is a positive signal for localities and tourism businesses to fully recover.
Mr. Do Viet Hung, Deputy CEO of FLC Group, was captured in a photo by Nguyen Hoang Son.
FLC representatives reported a promising situation in welcoming guests during the last 3 months of 2021 and the early months of 2022. Just in a few days of Tet holiday, the entire FLC Quy Nhon complex welcomed 10,000 guests. Additionally, FLC's golf system operated at full capacity in the final days of 2021.
During the conference, Mr. Nguyen Quy Phuong, Head of the Travel Department at the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, stated that the reopening regulations from March 15th will be more flexible. Tourists can choose between presenting a valid negative PCR test taken within 72 hours or a rapid test valid for 24 hours. Upon landing at the airport, tourists will not be required to undergo testing at the airport but rather at their registered accommodation. International tourists with negative test results will be able to participate in tourist activities and adhere to pandemic prevention regulations similar to domestic travelers. 'This facilitates both businesses and tourists,' said Mr. Phuong.
Mr. Phuong further explained that according to the reopening plan from March 15th, tourists will be welcomed at all border gates including airports, land border crossings, and seaports. All localities nationwide will also open their doors to tourists. The conditions for receiving tourists will adhere closely to the Ministry of Health's pandemic prevention standards.
Regarding visa matters, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and related ministries are reporting and proposing to the Government, the Prime Minister to allow the application of visa policies for tourists as before the pandemic, including issuing electronic visas, unilateral visa exemptions, and bilateral visa exemptions.
Getting prepared and seeking recovery solutions
Mr. Do Viet Hung, Deputy CEO of FLC Group, mentioned about the personnel challenge, stating that the FLC ecosystem proactively prepared human resources even during the pandemic's impact. In 2022, the group plans to recruit 2,000 - 4,000 personnel, with 15% being senior officials and foreign experts for Bamboo Airways. The unit also has pilot and flight attendant training centers set to operate in May and June. 'These efforts aim to prepare for international guests arriving by air. FLC also intensifies vaccination for employees with second and third doses, hence, we are very confident in welcoming international guests,' Mr. Hung said.
According to Mr. Mai Dinh Toan, Deputy CEO of Bamboo Airways, the airline benefits from being part of the FLC Group's strong tourism ecosystem. 'Over the past 2 years, we have been seeking flexible adaptive solutions, balancing pandemic prevention and economic activities. We continue to maintain our fleet, researching and developing new routes such as to Con Dao, Dien Bien Phu,' Mr. Toan stated.
Mr. Mai Dinh Toan, Deputy CEO of Bamboo Airways. (Photo: Nguyen Hoang Son).
In addition, businesses also have plans to expand flight networks from various places to Binh Dinh. For international tourism, the airline is also opening new routes to Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe. These efforts help businesses adapt to new regulatory policies.
Regarding tourism products, Mr. Vu The Binh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, emphasized that products are the essence of tourism. 'Post-Covid-19 products must be different from pre-Covid-19, not following trends but based on essence, attractiveness, they must be new products,' he said. Attention should also be paid to beauty products, health care, and sports-related products such as golf and marathon running.
Mr. Binh stated that the Vietnam Tourism Association is preparing to organize the VITM International Travel Expo from March 31st, marking the return of Vietnam's tourism activities, attracting participation from localities and businesses to introduce products.
Business delegates attending such as Mr. Pham Ha, Chairman of Lux Group, and Ms. Hoang Thi Lien, CEO of F5 Travel, proposed to intensify promotion and marketing efforts to target markets, enhance the positioning of the Vietnamese tourism brand, and attract celebrities for tourism promotion.
Tourism can quickly rebound if well-prepared
Commending the initiative of the Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee and FLC Group in organizing the seminar 'Safe Reopening: Vietnam's Golden Opportunity in Tourism,' Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, emphasized that with the ongoing largest national vaccination program, the tourism industry has very favorable conditions for restart.
Providing figures from domestic tourism activities and pilot programs for international visitors, Mr. Khanh affirmed: 'This demonstrates that tourism can quickly rebound if well-prepared.'
In his address at the seminar, Director-General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh emphasized the importance of ensuring safety and efficacy in tourism operations, aligning with the directives of the Government and the Prime Minister.
To facilitate the resumption of tourism activities in a scientific, safe, and efficient manner as directed by the Government and the Prime Minister, the Director-General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism proposes that the entire industry focus on key issues including:
Speaking at the seminar, Director-General Nguyen Trung Khanh highlighted several crucial points: 'Regarding ensuring pandemic prevention and safety, Vietnam is vigorously implementing a nationwide vaccination campaign, with a high vaccination coverage rate. However, attention must still be paid to the risk of emerging variants, disparities in vaccine coverage among different regions, and across various age groups.'
Particularly, there remains inconsistency in safety control regulations among certain localities. To effectively reopen tourism activities safely in the near future, ensuring unified compliance with pandemic prevention regulations by localities and tourism businesses must be a top priority. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with relevant ministries, will develop plans to reopen tourism in a scientific, safe, and efficient manner for nationwide implementation.
Leadership of the Tourism General Department stated that the agency is actively promoting digitalization of tourist destinations, constructing and implementing the Digital Transformation project in the tourism sector; organizing and participating in tourism promotion programs for Vietnam abroad; promoting Vietnam's tourism on renowned international media channels such as CNN, CNBC... targeting high-end markets. Researching, proposing the establishment of Vietnam tourism representative offices abroad; connecting with Vietnam's representative agencies abroad to promote information on Vietnam tourism opening...
By Mai Anh / Travelmag
