HCMC – Four provinces in central Vietnam yesterday, November 22, organized a joint virtual seminar to introduce tourism services to South Koreans.
Quang Nam, Danang, Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Binh at the event put forward their roadmaps to reopen inbound travel, which has been suspended natiownide since the first outbreak of Covid-19 in early 2020.
The seminar took place shortly after Quang Nam and Danang started implementing their inbound tourism reopening plans, earlier approved by the country’s national tourism authority.
Tour operators in South Korea said they would like to launch package tours using charter flights to take tourists to Vietnam during the year-end travel season and the upcoming Tet holiday.
Addressing the event, Nguyen Xuan Binh, deputy director of the Danang Tourism Department, said the central Government recently allowed Danang, Phu Quoc, Khanh Hoa, Quang Nam and Quang Ninh to offer inbound tours on a pilot basis.
He added that the Covid situation in Vietnam, especially in these five provinces, has been brought under control, with the vaccination rate for people aged 18 and older reaching 67%. A majority of tourism staff have been fully vaccinated.
In Danang City and neighboring Quang Nam Province, the local authorities have received requests to resume the international travel segment. The two will arrange group tours for foreign guests in the upcoming time, especially those from South Korea.
Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Nguyen Vu Tung said that the bilateral relations between Vietnam and South Korea are thriving in all fields and South Korea remains one of the most important partners of Vietnam.
According to Tung, as the pandemic has been brought under control, this is the right time to discuss reopening tourism, aimed at implementing the Government’s dual task of Covid prevention and control and economic development.
Speaking at the event, Ahn Min Sik, South Korean Consul General in Danang, said central Vietnam, especially Danang, is among the favorite destinations of South Korean tourists. South Korean visitors to central Vietnam have been on the rise, from some 210,000 in 2015 to around 1.8 million in 2019, which accounted for 41% of the total number of South Korean visitors to Vietnam in 2019.
Despite the impact of the pandemic , the travel demand of South Koreans remains high. Therefore, there would be a large number of South Koreans coming to central Vietnam once the region reopens its borders to international travelers, the Consul General said.
