HCMC – The second wave of the coronavirus has slashed hotel room occupancy rates in Khanh Hoa Province to 2% from the 20% seen last month, forcing many hotels in the south-central tourist destination to stay shut for over five months, said operators in the industry.
The hotel closure will extend until the Government approves a plan to open the country’s doors to international visitors, they said.
Data from the provincial Tourism Department showed that some 28,000 tourists are expected to visit Khanh Hoa this month, while the figure exceeded 214,000 last month.
After the second wave of Covid-19 hit the central city of Danang, tourists canceled numerous booked tours to Khanh Hoa, plunging the room occupancy rates from 20% in July to 2% this month.
Three- to five-star hotels recorded an average rate of 2.75%, one- to two-star hotels saw a rate of 1.6% and the rate at other hotels stayed at 2.1%.
Khanh Hoa is among the destinations nationwide to welcome a high number of international tourists. Last year, it served around seven million visitors, with over 50% of them being foreigners, especially from China and Russia.
Accordingly, many hotels and resorts in the province specialize in catering to Chinese and Russian visitors. The Covid-19 outbreak has forced the operators of these properties to shut down operations since the end of March, after the Government ordered the suspension of international air routes to contain the pandemic.
Given the suspension of the international segment, some hotels planned to tap into the domestic segment which recovered well after Vietnam ended a nationwide social distancing period. However, the second coronavirus wave happened before their plan was realized, some hotel owners told The Saigon Times.
According to the Tourism Department, Khanh Hoa is home to over 1,000 hotels, resorts and other residence facilities with some 50,000 rooms.
By Dao Loan
