Nari beats resorts, travel firms vigorously

Sunrise Resort has been severely damaged in the typhoon.

Nguyen Thanh Sang, President of Palm Garden Resort, one of the 5-star Cua Dai coastal resorts in Hoi An City of Quang Nam province, said the strong typhoon has broken trees, unroofed some houses in the area, causing the estimated total damage of VND4 billion.

“The damage is less serious if compared with the damage caused by Xangsane in 2006. However, what worries me is that the high tide and sea wages, which came together with Nari has caused the soil erosion in a section of coast in Palm Garden Resort,” Sang said.

According to Ngo Van Hoang, Director of Sunrise Resort in Hoi An City, the strong waves jumped over the embankment system and attacked the resort during the typhoon.

The resort has been suffering from soil erosion over the last many years. Besides the sea embankment built by the Quang Nam provincial people’s committee, the company itself spent money to build 250 meters of embankment in Sunrise Resort.

The villas located close to the sea have been severely damaged, while the glass system of the hotel has been broken. It is estimated that the total damage may reach VND15-20 billion.

Ho Tan Cuong, Deputy Director of the Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said most of the coastal hotels in Quang Nam province suffered the damages worth from several billions to tens of billions of dong.

The preliminary report by the local authorities showed that Quang Nam’s tourism has suffered the damage worth VND100 billion in total from Nari.

In Da Nang City, the well-known resorts such as Intercontinental, Pullman, Furama, Fusion Mia, Hyatt, Sandy Beach and the hotels in the central area have all been damaged: the roofs have been broken, trees fallen down. Especially, five ships in Da Nang have been sunk in the typhoon.

Le Quang Tuoi, Head of the Ngu Hanh Son Landscape Management Board, also said the typhoon has blown away many things in the tourism site. The path to Thuy Son Mountain has been eroded. Meanwhile, the lift that serves tourists on the Thuy Son Mountain area has stopped operation because of broken glass.

The tidying up at the tourism site had been completed by October 17. However, it could only serve the tourists who made reservation in advance.

The Quang Nam provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed the provincial authorities to give financial support to settle the soil erosion in the Hoi An area and Cu Lao Cham isle.

The department has also proposed the government to reduce 50 percent of the corporate income tax to be imposed on resorts, tourism complexes and travel firms, and to allow to delay the tax payment.

Tran Chi Cuong from the Da Nang City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also promised to ask for the financial support, estimated at 50 percent of the toll.