Preparations in full swing towards tourism reopening

Nguyen Trung Khanh, general director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism

How has the tourism sector prepared for the upcoming event?

In the process of welcoming foreign visitors on a trial basis, as well as implementing a programme on local tourism rebound, the tourism sector has benefitted from the support from relevant ministries and sectors. They enacted mechanisms and policies to support businesses and labourers to overcome the challenging times, resume production and trading, and present new products.

Several localities have taken initiative in crafting supportive policies for visitors, such as exempting or lowering ticket prices to local tourism attractions.

These, as well as plans for vaccine passports, were important premises for Vietnam's reopening of tourism activities.

What will be the priority markets for Vietnam’s tourism?

We will resume international travel following the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, striving to remove hurdles to best serve foreign visitors coming to Vietnam.

In the immediate future, our country would target markets without stringent requirements and those with clear measures for a reopening.

We also continually get updates about the situation in other markets, from there presenting suitable policies and strategies on attracting visitors in these markets.

Will the sector be in a good position to welcome international visitors from March 15?

Vietnam currently accommodates more than 38,000 tourism residences with over 700,000 rooms. Large tourism centres have a high proportion of 4- to 5-star hotels. Such accommodations can meet the demand from international visitors, as well as reach targets set by the industry.

In addition, Vietnam renders other types of accommodations, which are also good to serve visitors. It is important that when tourism begins to resume, firms need to upgrade their accommodations. We will join the effort with inspection groups coming to localities to ensure the quality of tourism residences.

The reopening will happen in less than a fortnight. What should be done to best prepare now?

The time is rather short for such a huge volume of work. Thus, it is vital to ensure safety in pandemic prevention and control as the prime prerequisite. As regular commercial flights are resumed, visa policies like in 2019 must be reinstated to suit visitors.

It is also crucial to promote dedicated tourism campaigns and partake in diverse events abroad, simultaneously focusing on boosting the exposure of Vietnam’s tourism in those target markets.