Quang Ninh’s tourism takes the brunt of typhoon

More than 1,000 houses in the Bai Chay tourist area along Halong Bay were severely damaged, with many restaurants collapsing, roofs torn off, and hotel room doors broken.

Quang Ninh’s tourism takes the brunt of typhoon, Photo: Thu Chung

Le Phuong Nhi, general director of cruise brand Indochine Premium, told VIR that dozens of yachts and other boats worth $1-4 million each are wrecked.

“Meanwhile, the costs for repairing the remaining ships and cruises are estimated at hundreds of billions of VND. Storm damage recovery activities are still facing difficulties due to limited communication connections, many mobile broadcasting towers and telecommunication cables have been damaged,” Nhi said.

“Yagi swept away all achievements built up by people working in the tourism sector over the past three months of summer. It will be extremely difficult to restore the site to its previous state, which will take years, not months,” Nhi added.

For tourist boats on Halong Bay, a UNESCO-recognised world natural heritage site, preliminary estimates indicate that over 20 boats have sunk.

Besides that, many eateries in the tourism centre were also affected. Vu Thi Tuyet, who owns a row of four kiosks, said that those in the tourism industry were starting to recover after suffering significant losses due to the 2020 pandemic, but Yagi has exacerbated their difficulties.

“I am unsure when they will be able to recover fully and hope for support from relevant agencies to help restore tourism activities,” Tuyet said.

Many high-end accommodation facilities, particularly hotels, have suffered partial or total damage, as strong winds tore off roofs, collapsed walls, and shattered windows and doors. The 5-star A La Carte is one of the hotels suffering the most serious damage from the storm. Just 200m from the sea, the 41-storey building suffered terrible devastation, with the sea-facing side of the building the worst hit and most of the glass shattered.

The Sea Star Hotel in the Cai Dam Urban Area of Bai Chay Ward, suffered extensive damage, with many glass doors shattered by the typhoon.

Sun World Halong Park also suffered infrastructure damage. About 90 per cent of trees were knocked down or broken, and management buildings, plaster ceilings, glass, and signs also fell due to strong winds.

“The Yagi storm has caused severe damage in Quang Ninh, and Sun World Ha Long has also been heavily affected. Immediately after the storm, our team has been working swiftly to address the damage. We see this as an opportunity to continuously improve and upgrade all the park’s services,” the Sun World Halong team shared on its website. “With unity and determination, we are working tirelessly to restore Sun World Ha Long as soon as possible, so that it can continue to be a wonderful destination for Quang Ninh.”

Tourism is one of the key economic sectors of the province. In the first seven months of 2024, the province welcomed nearly 13 million visitors with a total revenue of $1.22 billion, signifying increases of 20 per cent in terms of traveller numbers and 40 per cent in revenues on-year.

During the four-day National Day holiday, the whole province welcomed 455,000 tourists, reaching 119 per cent over the same period in 2023. Total tourism revenue is estimated at $42.9 million, reaching 131 per cent on-year.

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