This time of year is Hanoi’s peak for tourism, with surging numbers of both domestic and foreign travellers. This year, though, the situation is different.

The capital attracted just 6.29 million visitors in the first eight months of this year, tumbling 67.3% year-on-year, with international arrivals down 75.6% to just 1.02 million. Such figures have resulted in a large number of local travel companies suspending operations while many hotels have shut their doors.

A man cycles on a street near Hoan Kiem Lake – a popular tourist destination in Hanoi.

With this latest outbreak being contained, industry insiders now look forward to improved business performance.

There are only two weeks left before Hanoi begins a wide range of large-scale activities to celebrate 1,010 years since it was established as Vietnam’s capital, called Thang Long at the time, such as a cultural week, a street festival, a craft village festival, a traditional boat race, a culinary festival, a calligraphy exhibition, and a dragon dance festival.

This represents an opportunity to promote local tourism after its long hiatus.

Many relic sites, places of interests, and entertainment venues have had their landscapes improved and new services opened to meet visitors’ demand.

At the Temple of Literature – a must-see destination for every visitor to Hanoi, its centre for cultural and scientific activities is creating new mementos and introducing new methods of heritage education to inspire young visitors, while also developing night tourism by installing lighting to introduce the institution’s history.

Local entertainment venues are also revamping themselves to attract local visitors, who are believed to be the best target in plans to recover the tourism sector at this point in time.

Of these, Bao Son Paradise Park offers all-in tickets on Sundays, giving tourists entry to everywhere on site and allowing them to play 22 games an unlimited number of times. Its restaurants and accommodation services have also returned to normal, while most of its artistic performances are open and free.

Tourists practice social distancing before entering the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.

Local travel companies are also moving to encourage customers to travel again, as all flight, train, and road routes to the central city of Da Nang, a major tourism centre and where the second Covid-19 outbreak started, have been resumed and many localities have reopened places of interest.

Nguyen Cong Hoan, General Director of the Flamingo Redtours JSC, said that, this time around, low prices are not the most attractive factor, as travellers are seeking unique products that offer many different experiences.

Instead of promoting all of its tours, the company has selected the most outstanding autumn destinations for itineraries, such as the northwestern region with its blooming buckwheat flowers, the Central Highlands with its wild sunflowers, and the Mekong Delta region and its flood season.

It has also developed customised tours to suit the needs of particular groups of travellers, he noted, adding that the company expects that by proactively introducing new products it can seize the opportunities a new tourism season presents.

New approach in building model of craft village-based tourism

Developing craft village-based tourism has been eyed as a direction for boosting socio-economic factors in many localities in the Red River Delta. However, such a model has not yet been well implemented, requiring a new approach in building a sound model which can preserve and promote the cultural values of traditional villages while facilitating tourism growth.

An Giang launches tourism stimulus programmes

The southern province of An Giang will coordinate with Ho Chi Minh City and other localities in the south to launch tourism stimulus programmes with the aim of restoring the tourism sector as the Covid-19 outbreak has now been brought under control, according to Director of the An Giang provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Khanh Hiep.

Farming tourism promotes and consumes products in Bac Giang

(BGO) – Tapping the advantages, recently several localities in the northern province of Bac Giang have built up farming tourism with initial effectiveness which helps promote the local consumption to farm produce, create more new and attractive tourism products to be expanded. 

Vietnam launches website promoting sustainable tourism to foreign tourists

The “Green Travel” website, a Vietnam’s official tourism website for foreign tourists has been launched recently at the address www.vietnam.travel/sustainability.

Vietnam and Mekong countries cooperate in promoting sustainable tourism

Vietnam is keeping close watch on Covid-19 developments while working with countries which have been done well in controlling the epidemic in order to ensure safety for tourists and the entire community.

Bac Giang develops “green” tourism

(BGO) – Located at the transition land between the Northeast and Red River Delta provinces with many natural landscapes, vast primitive forest, diverse flora and fauna systems, Bac Giang province has sufficient condition to develop ecological and community tourism.   

Source: NDO