HCMC – Vietravel Airlines has written to the prime minister, proposing borrowing VND1 trillion with low interest rates, at 4%-5% per year, within five years to survive during the pandemic and resume its operations once the pandemic is brought under control.
Vietravel Airlines Chairman Nguyen Quoc Ky said Vietravel Airlines, like other tourism and aviation enterprises, had been hit hard by the pandemic and needed support to survive and develop.
Tourism and aviation firms have been affected by the pandemic but their bank loans are subject to annual interest rates of 5.5%-9%.
The Government should issue support policies for all aviation enterprises, Ky noted.
Besides offering preferential loans, he suggested extending the loan payment deadlines, supporting laborers, increasing access to Covid-19 vaccines and gradually reopening the tourism market.
The Government and the National Assembly should reduce the value added tax to 5% and the corporate income tax to 16% for three years.
In reality, many banks have committed to lowering their lending rates but only some have fulfilled their commitments. The policy to reduce land rentals has yet to be employed due to the lack of instructions.
Ky added that the implementation of support packages should involve the participation of enterprises to increase their effectiveness. Enterprises paying the social and health insurance premiums of their employees can help hand over the Government support directly to the laborers.
To resume tourism activities, Ky said the Covid-19 vaccine passport program should be piloted in Phu Quoc, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Hue, Van Don and Halong. He also proposed vaccinating the employees of tourism and aviation firms.
Nguyen Thi Khanh, chairwoman of the HCMC Tourism Association, said the current pandemic wave had frozen tourism activities in the city.
To resume these activities, enterprises need capital and vaccines. However, the proportion of tourism staff vaccinated against Covid-19 remains small.
By Dao Loan
