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According to the latest report of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), thanks to global Covid-19 vaccinations, the world tourism industry will gain a slow recovery in 2021 and regain growth momentum in the second half of the year.

UNWTO also said that domestic tourism would still be the main trend this year, accounting for 90% of tourists. In the context of Covid-19 pandemic, people tend to travel close to home, to destinations close to nature (60%) and in small groups or with their families. International tourism activities are likely to reopen from late in the third quarter 2021.

Ms. Dang Huong Giang, Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, talks about the capital’s tourism development. Photo: Trong Dat

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism assessed that domestic tourism will remain a key factor this year. Thanks to the Vietnamese government’s control of Covid, Booking.com stated that 71% of Vietnamese are ready to travel. These are good signs for Vietnam’s tourism industry.

Hanoi allowed bars, karaoke parlors and discos to resume their activities on March 23, creating favorable conditions for the recovery of tourism and service activities.

In this context, the Department of Tourism and the Department of Information and Communications of Hanoi inked a coordination program on improving the efficiency of information, propaganda, promotion and application of information technology in tourism activities in the period of 2021-2025.

According to Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism Ms. Dang Huong Giang, the tourism industry contributed 12.54% to Hanoi’s GDP in 2019, which dropped to only 3.54% of GDP in 2020.

The signing ceremony of the joint program on improving the efficiency of information, promotion and application of information technology in Hanoi’s tourism activities. Photo: Trong Dat

To deal with the situation, in addition to perform digital transformation and IT application, the Department of Tourism will organize many activities to stimulate demand and promote the city’s tourism industry.

Ms. Giang said that tourist firms are now ready to go digital which will help businesses save on spending and provide better services for tourists.

The Hanoi authorities are very supportive of digital transformation and building a green, clean, friendly, safe, attractive tourist environment that brings unforgettable experiences to attract visitors.

Director of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Liem. Photo: Trong Dat

Director of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Liem said that being aware of the importance of the capital’s tourism industry, his agency proposed to shoulder part of the responsibility in promoting the image of the city and help the Hanoi Department of Tourism in digital transformation.

Currently, 25 free WiFi hotspots have been set up at popular tourist destinations in Hanoi. Hanoi will set up nine more free WiFi hotspots in 2021.

These efforts are made to give tourists the best experience when traveling in the capital city, said Liem.

Trong Dat

Cherry blossom in Da Lat Town. Photo by VnExpress/ Tran Ngoc Anh.

Located in Tay Ho District’s Nhat Tan Ward, Nhat Tan Village, Hanoi’s peach trees cultivating hub, boasts thousands of the fruit trees on about 50 hectares. Trees and branches laden with peach blossoms are of significant cultural significance in the north of the country as an indispensable adornment for the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival.

Meanwhile, Da Lat is a famous tourist destination in the country, with its year-round cool climate.

The other Asian localities in the SCMP listing of spring flower hotspots are: Seoul and Jeju in South Korea, Tokyo and Yamanashi in Japan, Taichung City and Nantou in Taiwan, Kedah and Penang in Malaysia, Palawan and Cavite in the Philippines, and Bangkok and Phatthalung in Thailand.

AFP

Long told an online meeting Friday the southwest border with Cambodia and southwestern provinces of the country, better known as the Mekong Delta region, are now “major hotspots” at high risk of possible Covid-19 outbreaks.

Therefore, he urged border forces to prevent illegal entry or exit as well as to ensure those entering Vietnam from neighboring countries are sent to centralized quarantine facilities.

Vietnam’s border with Cambodia spans 1,137 kilometers, including the border with four Mekong Delta provinces An Giang, Dong Thap, Kien Giang and Long An. Other Vietnamese provinces bordering Cambodia are Binh Phuoc and Tay Ninh which are near HCMC, and Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Dak Nong in the Central Highlands.

“If we neglect and let those carrying the virus, especially the U.K. and South African strains, enter the country and then infect the community, pandemic control would become very difficult,” Long said.

Both Cambodia and Thailand have become epicenters in Southeast Asia with a significant surge in Covid-19 community transmissions in recent days.

Cambodia imposed a coronavirus lockdown on its capital Phnom Penh on Thursday in a bid to contain a spike in cases. The country recorded 344 new infections on Thursday, pushing its tally to 5,200, while Thailand reported 1,543 new coronavirus cases, the sharpest increase since the start of the pandemic and the fourth record rise this week, amid a third wave of infections in the country.

Just last month, Vietnam had suffered a spate of infections after a group of Vietnamese returned home illegally from Cambodia .

Three of them, all women 25 and 26 years old, were confirmed infected after they returned on a fishing vessel that docked at Phu Quoc Island of Kien Giang.

Many Vietnamese reside and do business in Cambodia, with many found infected with the novel coronavirus here over the past months.

While Vietnam has sealed its borders, there are occasional illegal entrants who evade checkpoints to avoid mandatory quarantine.

As per the Health Ministry protocols, all those entering the nation from abroad must be quarantined for 14 days, during which they will be tested at least twice.

Vietnam has gone over two months without community transmissions.