Travel

With the country shifting from a 'zero-Covid' strategy to living safely with the pandemic and most localities easing Covid restrictions and reopening tourism activities, several travel agencies have been looking for ways to bring back tourists by launching tour packages that cater to new normal requirements. One common requirement for all tours is that every tourist must be fully vaccinated with the second dose administered at least 14 days before arrival or furnish a certificate showing they had contracted and recovered from Covid. They also need to show a negative Covid certificate using the PCR method within 72 hours before departure. On Tuesday, authorities in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam’s ‘Cave Kingdom’, approved major tour operator Oxalis Adventure trialing a tour package program that welcomes fully vaccinated domestic tourists from now until June next year. As envisaged, tourists from HCMC and Hanoi would arrive in Quang Binh by charter flights or buses to join the tour … [Read more...] about Travel firms fashion new normal tour packages to revive tourism

Travel firms in HCMC have resumed selling tours. (Photo: vietnambooking.com) From October, HCMC has allowed tourism activities in the so-called “green zones,” where the pandemic outbreak has been contained. Holidaymakers have to go in groups and travel within a day. Saigontourist Travel Service Company is the pioneer in the city’s tourism programme, following the success of eight pilot tours to Can Gio and Cu Chi districts held exclusively for medical workers working in the pandemic fight. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Director of Marketing and Communications of Saigontourist, said her company has offered two tours to Can Gio and Cu Chi. Saigontourist and Bao Viet Insurance in HCMC signed an expanded tourism insurance contract covering tourists infected with the coronavirus during the company’s tours, Tra added. A representative from Vietravel said the firm will develop intra-region products and provide on-the-spot services. Travel companies are waiting for concerted policies … [Read more...] about Travel firms in HCMC resume selling tours

Last month, Duc An, a Hai Phong resident, planned to take his family to the popular resort town Sa Pa in Lao Cai Province as a break after being confined to home for a long time because of the pandemic. Based on instructions from Lao Cai’s health department, those coming from Hai Phong, deemed a ‘green zone’ with low Covid-19 risks, would be exempt from quarantine. His family would only need to furnish a negative Covid-19 certificate. However, when An called the hotline of Lao Cai’s health department, he was informed that if his family moved through Hanoi to reach Lao Cai, they would have to undergo a seven-day quarantine. An decided to cancel his trip. As of mid-October, Lao Cai has classified Hanoi as a green zone, but An is still hesitant and biding his time. He said because of inconsistent travel regulations between localities, he is not sure if he will be isolated upon arriving in Sa Pa and returning to Hai Phong or not. In line with government criteria on vaccine … [Read more...] about Covid-wary localities vary travel rules, hinder tourism revival

The “travel bubble” model has been billed as a potential means for Ho Chi Minh City to recover its tourism sector, which has been frozen for many months. Under a “travel bubble” tour, visitors would mostly take part in outdoor activities such as exploring mangrove forests and rivers and only have close contact with members of their package tour. All tourists, guides, drivers, operators, and logistics workers at tourism sites must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and test negative, while closely following the Ministry of Health’s “5K message”. The model is being applied on two tours to Can Gio and Cu Chi in the city. Bubble tours are initially being offered to frontline COVID-19 workers. “This is the first time I have visited this place. It’s interesting to take a river tour and taste local seafood, said Dr Trinh Tien Dung from the Central Hospital 71 in Thanh Hoa province. “I’ll try some crab fishing later on.” For many travel companies, “travel bubble” tours like … [Read more...] about “Travel bubble” introduced to restore HCM City’s tourism

Mui Ne beach has become one of the favorite tourist destination s in Vietnam for both domestic and international tourists in recent years. (Photo: VNA) Binh Thuan (VNA) – Travel companies in the southern central province of Binh Thuan has been permitted to welcome tourists from October 24. The provincial People’s Committee on October 20 issued a document on the organisation of tourism activities while continuing COVID-19 prevention and control measures. Apart from giving the green light to travel firms, it also allowed the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to hold the first programme welcoming tourists back to Binh Thuan in the “new normal” period and convene a meeting with the province’s tourism association. The People’s Committee assigned the department to work with the Department of Health, relevant departments and sectors, and the administrations of localities to assess COVID-19 safety levels and announce the eligible tourism companies. The … [Read more...] about Travel firms in Binh Thuan permitted to reopen from October 24

A recently-launched travel tour to Can Gio is viewed as a way to honour medical workers, and a pilot programme which aims to help the tourism sector in Ho Chi Minh City at large and the southern hub’s Can Gio district in particular gradually recover. Tourists explore Rung Sac in Can Gio. (Photo: VNA) The municipal Department of Tourism, together with Can Gio district and Saigontourist Group, successfully held the first trip for 119 tourists, who are medical workers in the fight against COVID-19 in HCM City, the largest pandemic hotspot in Vietnam. It was a pilot tourism product of Can Gio as well as the first of its kind in HCM City amid social distancing period. The travel tour strongly adhered to COVID-19 prevention and control measures. All tourists, guides, drivers, organisers and logistics workers at all locations must be fully inoculated against COVID-19 and tested negative, while closely following the 5K message of the Ministry of Health. … [Read more...] about HCM City pilots ‘travel bubble’ model in Can Gio district