Frontline heroes treated to green travel campaign

Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Department hosted a one-day tour to Can Gio Biosphere Reserve for frontline heroes. Photo: Le Toan

The municipal city has recently hosted one-day tours to Can Gio and Cu Chi for frontline staff who have been working tirelessly in the fight against the ongoing pandemic. The tour is a closed loop activity in outdoor spaces that are separated from residential neighbourhoods, and visitors have been administered with two vaccine doses and test negative before the trip.

Can Gio is home to one of the world’s largest rehabilitated mangrove forests while also acting as a “green lung” for the municipal area. With untouched nature and pure air, first-time visitors are often impressed by the peacefulness and an unpolluted environment which cannot be found in the city. The tour, named “Can Gio – Beautiful Nature”, features popular tourist attractions in Can Gio such as the Rung Sac Guerrilla Base, Dan Xay Mangrove Park, Monkey Island, and Vam Sat Ecological Park. Tourists also have the chance to take part in adventure games.

Meanwhile, trips to Cu Chi are being entitled “Green journey to the Land of Steel” as the destination is known for its unique historical and architectural values. In particular, the Cu Chi tunnels are the vast underground networks symbolising the resistance and bravery of Vietnamese during the war. The Sai Gon-Cho Lon-Gia Dinh Revolutionary Tradition Monument is built to honour martyrs and people who made outstanding contributions to the nation during the war.

Nguyen Thi Le, Chairwoman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, shared that the programme aims to pay tribute to frontline workers and to thank them for their selfless service throughout the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. All of the activities are designed to help ease the psychological stress of such workers and volunteers who have been dedicated to serving local communities.

Ho Chi Minh City is slowly increasing its green areas, which are free from coronavirus. Among them, Can Gio, Cu Chi, and District 7 have achieved some positive results and are now considered safe green areas. Meanwhile, the rate of positive cases is starting to decline.

Le noted that Ho Chi Minh City is looking to gradually reopen with a view to restoring socioeconomic activities in line with pandemic prevention, with the pilot tours to Can Gio and Cu Chi expected to help facilitate the recovery of the local tourism industry.

A representative of Saigontourist Group said that the company will continue to promote tours to Can Gio as well as exploring other safe destinations. “We will organise more tours depending on the pandemic situation and the recovery of the industry. We will work with relevant units to assess and learn from experience to ensure safety and self-isolation protocols for visitors and service staff during reopening,” he said.

In September, Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control issued a set of safety assessment criteria for tourism activities in green zones. The criteria require both tourist staff and guests to be fully vaccinated for at least 14 days, or are fully recovered from coronavirus infection.

For guests under 18 years of age, a certificate of negative rapid test for SASR-CoV-2 within 48 hours prior to joining the tour is required. Meanwhile, for guests who are in a family or have the same epidemiological factors, each room of the accommodation is arranged for two or more people. Guests travelling alone and those without the same epidemiological factors must stay in different rooms.