Although it is summer, Quang Ninh tourism is “frozen” due to the influence of the Covid-19 epidemic. Ha Long international passenger ship port these days seems to be more crowded, because hundreds of ships are anchored at the same time. The scenery is beautiful but gloomy because all the ships are lying on the shore. From May 6, due to the extremely complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic, Quang Ninh province has suspended all sightseeing and tourism activities at tourist sites, tourist attractions, relics and scenic spots on the island. locality. Ha Long Bay has about 500 cruise ships operating, but now from ships serving day visitors to overnight cruises worth hundreds of billions of dollars, all are subject to dormant anchorage at the wharf. No longer crowded with tourists, the harbor is deserted. It is estimated that before the pandemic, there were peak days when Ha Long Bay welcomed nearly 20,000 visitors. Many weekends in the summer of last year, the number of visitors has also recovered. Bai Chay tourist area is equally deserted. Along with tightening 5K, Quang Ninh has also asked to stop many non-essential services, making the streets even more deserted. While a number of large hotels have chosen to temporarily close at the beginning of the year, many small and medium hotels are still operating in moderation. “The travel stop is necessary to prevent the epidemic, we also have to adapt by letting employees take a break, then selling online,” said the owner of a restaurant. At the weekend, people came to Bai Chay beach to admire the scenery, some people still went to the beach to swim despite the regulations to suspend beach activities, not to gather crowds on the beach, and the loudspeakers continuously warned. The border of the sea is mainly local people going to exercise, complying with wearing masks to prevent epidemics. At Tuan Chau Tourist Area, the port area to welcome guests is also no longer a shadow of ships coming in and out. Previously, after the outbreak of the epidemic in early 2021, from about March, tourism activities in Quang Ninh returned, but the number of visitors was not large. Many ships in a state of “not being able to restart yet were lying ashore”. “The ship doesn’t go to sea but still has to maintain maintenance and lookout personnel, the bank debt also keeps increasing,” a ship owner lamented. Tens of thousands of direct and indirect workers in the tourism industry in Quang Ninh are also having to quit, relax, and struggle to wait for the end of the epidemic.

On the afternoon of April 30, Bai Chay tourist area, Ha Long city, Quang Ninh welcomed thousands of visitors to swim and go on holiday. Many groups of students from localities such as Hai Phong, Hanoi, Hai Duong… come here to relax and take advantage of yearbook photos. On the nearly 3 km long beach, a group of students created yearbook photos in the style of the game dragon snake on the cloud. Another group chose to take a yearbook in the style of “virtual check-in”. This young man used his smartphone to take chill photos with the golden afternoon sun on the sandy beach to post on social networks. Others turn the beach into a catwalk, posing for photographers to work freely. NHP (from Hanoi), said that after consulting the locations, the whole class decided to choose Ha Long beach (Quang Ninh) to take a yearbook photo. “The scenery here is very beautiful, after this trip, if I have the opportunity, I will definitely invite my whole family to Ha Long to visit.” In addition to taking pictures and swimming, many young people choose to fly by parachute to explore the panoramic view of Ha Long Bay from above. “I find the scenery of Ha Long very beautiful, today it is clear and sunny, so the scenery is very clear,” said a tourist from Hanoi. On holidays and weekends, many companies choose the beach in Ha Long to organize team building activities for employees. Everyone joins game activities on the beach to dispel fatigue after long working days.

On the afternoon of May 9, Bai Chay tourist area in Ha Long city (Quang Ninh) was empty of tourists after this locality appeared a case of Covid-19 related to the outbreak of K Hospital Tan Trieu campus. Currently, the case in Ha Long is also the only Covid-19 case in Quang Ninh province, numbered 3260 by the Ministry of Health. The empty streets were completely different from the bustling atmosphere last weekend. To prevent the epidemic, Ha Long City applied a series of strong measures, including the blockade of markets such as Ha Long 1; Ha Long 2; Toad market Old ferry terminal; Vuon Dao market, Bai Chay ward… Ha Long Bay also stopped tourist activities. Visitors to Quang Ninh must make a medical declaration from 0:00 on May 8. Mr. Nguyen Van Thang (who works as a motorbike taxi driver) last week used to stay here to take guests from resorts to the beach. “For two days, I just brought my car here to sit for the rest of the day and then come back. There were no customers, but I didn’t dare to rest because I was the main laborer in the family,” said Mr. Thang. The parking lot is near sparsely populated, located between the pedestrian street and the amusement park. A representative of Sun World Halong Complex said that the entire amusement park was closed to visitors from May 6. This cafe is located in a beautiful location between the two main streets of the pedestrian street. Before the outbreak, this place was usually busy on weekends, but now it has to be closed. Another cafe on the corner of the pedestrian street is in a similar condition. The staff here said that only a few guests sometimes come in for a drink. “Each business kiosk here has a rental price of 15-20 million/month. Now that there are no customers, we are forced to close down to return the premises,” said Mr. Tran Huu Viet, owner of a restaurant on the pedestrian street. With no guests, many employees put things out to repair to wait for tourists to return. This cafe located in the middle of the beach, which opened last summer, is now closed. Tables and chairs covered with canvas lay bare in the middle of the sand. Previously, Ha Long announced that people were not allowed to swim in the sea. Some pontoon and beach seat rentals have been shut down. Ha Long international passenger ship port area is in a similar situation. Ships lined up long after the Quang Ninh provincial authorities asked to stop welcoming tourists to Ha Long Bay.