HCMC – Many provinces and cities in the country have seen a slight increase in the number of tourists this month, with multiple hotels and tour operators resuming operations.
Khanh Hoa Province welcomed an estimated 40,000 domestic visitors in June, double that of the previous month, while the number of international tourists was 1,500, rising by 300 against last month’s figure, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.
However, the domestic and international tourist arrivals in the province still plunged by 90.2% and 99.5% year-on-year.
Besides this, the room occupancy rate in June averaged at a mere 3.06% as many hotels and resorts remained closed.
In the first half of 2020, the number of tourists to Khanh Hoa Province tumbled by 79% year-on-year at over 710,400, resulting in a loss of 76.1% in tourism revenue.
Kien Giang Province faced the same fate, with the number of travelers to the province in June reaching an estimated 102,220, down 88% year-on-year, but doubling the figure seen in May.
Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang alone welcomed some 70,000 holidaymakers in June, slumping by 84.5% against the year-ago figure, while international tourists plummeted by 95.1%.
The province earned a mere VND183.7 billion in tourism revenue in June, down 87.2% year-on-year.
Binh Thuan Province, with its advantage of beaches, has seen the number of domestic tourists rise during the weekend this month and most of the hotels and resorts have also resumed operations.
Between January and June, the number of travelers to Binh Thuan Province dipped by 47.6% from the same period last year at 1.5 million.
To stimulate domestic tourism, various discounted tours have been introduced in many localities.
HCMC is running a large-scale tourism stimulation program, launching 260 tours and 280,000 entry tickets at entertainment sites and tourist attractions with discounts of up to 70% from now until the end of 2020. Apart from providing free services such as airport transfers and spas, hotels in the city will also reduce room rates by 22%-68%.
On June 23, tens of travel firms and hotels in Lam Dong Province reached a consensus to cut the prices of services by up to 60% from now until late 2020.
Some other provinces and cities, including Hanoi City, have also rolled out tourism stimulation programs. The Hanoi government and Vietnam Airlines on June 27 signed a memorandum of understanding to contribute to the recovery of the tourism industry after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Accordingly, Vietnam Airlines will offer discounted air tickets to travel firms that introduce full-package tours to Hanoi City and cooperate with these firms to hold the Hanoi tourism promotion conference in Central, Southeast and Southwest Vietnam.
By Dao Loan
