“On April 30, my family wants to go out, a place around the North like Mai Chau, Dia Tibet Pagoda, Sa Pa, or the homestay in the forest”, “This April 30 I want to let my two children go out. 1 day near Hanoi, need location advice “, … is the information posted by members on a travel forum. To avoid overload at famous destinations, many tourists choose desolate places such as mountainous or remote islands, … That is because in fact, up to this point, some tourist destinations such as Ha Long (Quang Ninh), Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Ly Son (Quang Ngai), some provinces in the East – Northwest region .. . Many places have full rooms, sealed service. The director of travel company G., based in Nguyen Luong Bang street (Hanoi), said that visitors rushed to travel on April 30 to May 1, so the company was overloaded, unable to serve. should stop accepting customers. In particular, this year, guests still travel early, go the whole week before the holiday (April 23-27), or after that (from May 2-3), … so the service is full. dozens of days in a row. Da Nang is chosen by many tourists during the holidays of April 30 to May 1 (photo M. Man) For example, this director shared, until now, it is difficult to find a limousine for guests to go from April 30 to May 1 to Sa Pa because the transportation companies have leased out cleanly. In Da Nang, the rush of tourists until April 30 to May 1 heralded the “fire” situation of the hotel room. Up to now, Nui Than Tai Tourist Area has run out of rooms during the peak ceremony. Muong Thanh Luxury Danang Hotel reaches 80% of room capacity, … Also in Ly Son (Quang Ngai), the number of tourists registered to visit the island also increased dramatically, expected over 10,000 people. 133 accommodation establishments on the island – including 8 hotels, 60 guesthouses, and the rest are homestays with over 1,000 rooms – have also run out of rooms. Talking to PV.VietNamNet, representative of Flamingo Redtours said that the company closed the tour book from April 30 to May 1 from last week. During this holiday, the company served more than 10,000 visitors, an increase of about 40% over the same period in 2020. Some resorts such as Flamingo Dai Lai, Flamingo Cat Ba have been full of customers since the beginning of March. Vietravel also recorded the number of tourists booking tours in April up to 35,000, in May 53,000 visitors; in which the number of visitors registered for holiday tourism accounts for about 40%. Compared to the same period in 2019 in the domestic tourism segment (at the time of no translation), an increase of about 10%. Up to now, almost 30 / 4- / 1/5 ceremony tour has been full. This company continues to receive visitors to close to the holiday depending on the status of the tourist routes. In general, this year’s holiday tour price does not increase compared to every year. Saigontourist Travel Company also plans to increase the number of seats for summer tours by more than 20% compared to the same period last year. 7:00 am on April 8, Noi Bai airport was crowded with tourists (photo NH) Opportunities to travel to regain momentum Tourism company director G. analyzed, if the previous year, the flight of up to a hundred people was delayed by Covid-19, it was difficult or impossible to claim money, then this year, the group learned from experience. often choose to go by car. Passengers traveling far by plane are mainly small groups and households. Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, … are still “hot” spots chosen by many customers. The representative of Vietravel also said that after the Covid-19 translation, the tourist’s travel trend has changed dramatically, from group travel, available schedules, tourists prefer self-travel. due. For small groups of tourists from 2 – 4 – 6 – 8 guests can easily book flight + hotel services at a saving price of up to 30% compared to booking an odd service. The percentage of visitors who book this combo at the company this year’s holiday is about 65% of the package tour. To date, according to the Airport Corporation (ACV), in Noi Bai alone, on the occasion of April 30 and the summer peak, there will be about 500 domestic flights, with more than 75,000 passengers per day. . This figure is almost on the par with the peak of 2019, when the Covid-19 translation has not yet appeared. The airlines are expected to regain the “performance” of the number of domestic tourists, instead of international tourists. As for the travel companies, this was also the period when the market had a deep differentiation. The market is only really for reputable, potential and passionate companies. While small companies sink with no customers, many still exist and are on a good recovery, the director said. As at G company, it has always been a secret since Tet. Everyone works from 9am to 11pm to meet the needs of inquiring information, booking tours of guests. Last year, in May-June, before the second outbreak broke out, there were so many domestic tourists that “never been so crowded,” commented the female director. The domestic department’s two-month revenue is equal to the whole year revenue. This year, the number of visitors is expected to be even greater. The problem of Covid’s existence requires not only travel companies but also service providers such as hotels, restaurants, transportation, … to have experience and financial potential to maintain operations. move. The occasion of April 30 and May 1 and the peak of this summer is an opportunity for companies to stand firm and break through.

In particular, this year, guests also travel early, go the whole week before the holiday (April 23-27), or after that (from May 2-3) … so the service is continuously full. for a dozen days. Sapa attracts tourists during the holiday season this year. According to Viettravel, in April, the business recorded 35,000 tourists booking tours, of which most flocked on the holidays April 30 – May 1. Currently, most of the tours on this occasion are full. With the tours still available, Viettravel continues to accept tourists, depending on the travel routes. However, without saying anything, businesses can quickly close the book if the number of tourists booking tours continues to increase rapidly as before. The representative of this unit also stated that, after COVID-19, the tourism trend of tourists has changed significantly, from traveling in groups, available schedules to free travel, with fewer people. Groups from 2 to less than 10 people. Despite the high demand, but this year’s holiday tour price does not increase compared to every year. In addition to shifting the trend of freelance travel with small groups, customers will also benefit more from combo packages from service providers. Information with VTC News, Mr. Le Hong Thai – Deputy Director of Hanoitourist Travel Company – also said that the tour was closed for tourists on holidays from about a week ago. The hottest tours on April 30 – May 1 this year are Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Da Nang, Ha Long Sapa. Many of these tours even refused to receive guests earlier due to full service. “ The number of tourists booking tour during the holiday season 30/4 – 1/5 is much higher than last year. The reason is easy to understand is that the COVID-19 epidemic has been well controlled, people want to take advantage of traveling right in this period of time with the fear of outbreaks again. There are still many customers wishing to call to book tours. Hanoitourist continues to serve and can increase more road tours to Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Sapa … As for the flight tours, to Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Con Dao, Phu Quoc, it is currently closed. and no more “, Mr. Thai said. A similar situation happened at another travel agency. Representative of Viet Tourism Company said that this unit has now stopped accepting tourists on flight tours to destinations such as Phu Quoc, Con Dao, Nha Trang … The reason is that the number of tourists booking these tours is full. Moreover, the ticket price is also very high. “ Book flights at the present time, flight prices range from 6-8 million VND, equal to the tour price to Phu Quoc if booked early “, the man said. Phu Quoc is one of the most attractive destinations for this holiday season but it is currently difficult to book a tour there. According to information from the Phu Quoc Tourism Association, hotels in tourist areas in Phu Quoc are almost overloaded, customers who want to book for a holiday from April 30 to May 1 must book a month earlier. Hotels and motels in Phu Quoc have opened 100% and are operating at full capacity except for a very small proportion of properties that are difficult to close for repair. Ms. Hoang Phuong Thao – Marketing Sales Manager at Salinda Resort Phu Quoc said that guests who booked a room at this resort since two weeks ago and currently cannot receive more guests. This unit has also been operating at 100% capacity to serve tourists during this holiday.

Similarly, this unit also designed the program “1 day explore Hai Phong” for tourists from localities such as Hanoi, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh … Visitors will take the train to Hai Phong, visit port city and enjoy the street food of Hai Phong such as: coconut milk coffee, pickled coconut, spicy bread, crab cake, snails, price … or take a walk on Tam Bac pedestrian street, visit big bridges of Hai Phong and witness the bustling atmosphere on the harbor at night … Travel companies in Hai Phong target specific groups to have suitable tourism products Mr. Luu Hoang Diep, Director of S9 Travel Company, said: Due to the influence of Covid-19 epidemic, the fear of epidemic diseases of tourists forces travel and tourism businesses to change to adapt. The company has created more short-term programs, not focusing on travel combo packages anymore, but building cultural experience programs. “The company does not sell to large groups of customers, but for each family, change means of transportation, change the way of travel, change the way of doing. Previously, referring to Hai Phong was thinking of association tourism. conferences, seminars, swimming, now direct customers to products associated with the marine landscape.When they change their mindset and outlook, they will be able to create new programs, approach customer groups to bring them. about “- said Mr. Luu Hoang Diep. Diversifying tourism products but not massively, but targeting specific groups of customers, many tourism businesses in Hai Phong are succeeding with this approach. Especially, with the trend of tourists often traveling with family or small groups and using high-end services; Restaurants and hotels in Hai Phong have offered many attractive combos. Ms. Nguyen Bich Dung, Sales Manager of Flamingo Cat Ba (Hai Phong) said: “In response to the tourism stimulus program in Hai Phong, we immediately deployed resort packages with extremely attractive prices, like packages accommodation services with seminars; resort packages on weekends, guests only pay the cost of accommodation and are given unlimited utility services … Quickly adapt to new conditions Flamingo Cat Ba has welcomed a large number of tourists during Tet and weekends with a frequency of 400-500 passengers / day “. With many attractive stimulus packages, tourism and resort businesses in Hai Phong attract many tourists Not only changing the way of approaching customers and product specifics to suit new tourism trends, businesses also have a close linkage, cooperation for mutual development. Restaurants and hotels in Hai Phong offer many service packages for travel and sell only to travel companies. It is a commitment to accompany and overcome difficulties together after the pandemic of travel agencies and accommodation businesses. The Hai Phong Tourism Association also plays the role of connecting travel agencies in Hai Phong and other localities to promote and stimulate tourism demand. Mr. Hoang Tuan Anh, Vice Chairman of Hai Phong Tourism Association said: “The Tourism Association also mobilizes units to continue building new tourism products, combining new points and routes in the city. and the surrounding areas, with premium service and combined with airlines.From 28/3, a series of routes are re-operated by airlines, this is also a very good condition to combine Businesses are also more prepared for product packages for the summer tourism season. Hai Phong will hold the Red Phoenix Flower Festival on May 11-13, 2021, one of the major events to promote the image of the city and stimulate tourism. In 2021, Hai Phong strives to welcome 9.5 million visitors. To attract tourists and promote the image of the city, from May 11-13, Hai Phong city will hold the Hai Phong Red Phoenix Flower Festival with the theme “Hai Phong – A successful destination”. At this event, the Hai Phong Tourism Association will host a number of large regional events, such as the Northern Coastal Travel Fair, the Hai Phong Chef Competition, and the Wine Festival. .. Along with that, localities with strong tourism strengths of Hai Phong also organize many tourism promotion programs such as: “Do Son – Color of the Sea 2021” Tourism Festival, program Opening of Cat Ba tourism (scheduled to take place on April 30, next May).

Mr. Nguyen Phi Hong Nguyen, owner of a travel business in Nha Trang city, said: “With only 2 million, tourists can stay up to 3 days 2 nights, using sea and island tours as well as services. 4 – 5 star accommodation is equal to the price of 3 stars in previous years. Affordable price, good service quality and natural beauty are the right conditions for tourists to come to Nha Trang this summer “. This year, Khanh Hoa province does not hold a regular sea festival, instead, there are 114 cultural, art, tourism and sports activities with the theme “Safe destination – Nha Trang called”. from mid-April, ending on New Year’s Day 2022, with 4 groups operating at 4 times including: April 30 – May 1 in association with Am Chua Festival and Ponagar Tower Festival in 2021, Nha Trang summer calendar from June to July, National Day September 2 and New Year festival 2022. In the middle of this April, activities of “Legendary Journey of Motherland of Thien YA Na” will help visitors discover the cultural features of the land of Tram Huong such as: Am Chua Festival, Festival Ponagar tower, contest “Check in Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa”, street food, art performance program “Legend of Thien Y Ana” … Khanh Hoa tourism industry organizes many activities to attract domestic tourists. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ha – Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Khanh Hoa province said that this is the first time the locality has built the activities of the year into a series of events with themes, delineate space and time for tourists. come to learn and experience: “4 groups of activities at times, along with regular events, the total is up to more than 100 activities. All activities together with stimulus packages of tourism units create a very good resonance for Khanh Hoa tourism in 2021 will be more prosperous ”. In the first quarter of this year, the number of visitors to Khanh Hoa province was only 200,000, equal to 1/4 of the same period last year. However, this time, tourists started to increase, Khanh Hoa province strives to welcome about 200,000 visitors in April, to contribute to reach 5 million visitors this year. Mr. Tran Viet Trung – Director of Khanh Hoa Department of Tourism said, Khanh Hoa tourism is focusing mainly on attracting domestic tourists, the peak time from April to September. The tourism industry will promote linkage. to stimulate demand, connect with travel businesses in other localities, promote digital advertising to attract tourists: “Domestic tourists really want to learn about culture, lifestyle, children. people in Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa The tourism industry has also launched safe tourism, built a list of safe business tourism establishments, we went to inspect, check, and guide real units. show serious “. A famtrip group surveyed bringing domestic tourists to Nha Trang. Currently, Khanh Hoa province is ready funding and manpower to vaccinate Covid-19 for people aged 18 and over. Expectedly, there will be about 970 thousand people vaccinated with a cost of about 250 billion. Khanh Hoa is also one of six localities that are welcoming Vietnamese people to enter, isolate in tourist and resort areas. Mr. Dinh Van Thieu – Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee said, implementing the goal of both effective disease prevention and economic recovery and development; Khanh Hoa prioritizes investment in reviving the service-tourism industry and promoting and promoting, ready to welcome international tourist markets when it meets the necessary conditions. “Activities still have to implement 5K in epidemic prevention, first of all masks and medical declarations. According to the requirements and situation of each time, there will be an appropriate organization for the province’s requirements. Khanh Hoa has also submitted a document to the Government to ask for fireworks, to use the fireworks that have been prepared in the New Year’s celebration but have not yet been used “- Mr. Dinh Van Thieu said.

New Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung. (Photo: Xuan Mai / Vietnam +)

Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party’s Civil Affairs Committee, the new Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung clearly affirms the goals and solutions for Vietnam’s smokeless economy to soon surpass. “Storm COVID-19.”

The Minister said that the domestic market is an important “battlefield” that the whole industry needs to focus on exploiting in the period of “new normal.”

What resources support businesses?

– Minister, Vietnam tourism has determined to focus on Internal Market next time. So in your opinion, what is an overall strategy to create a common strength in exploiting this potential market?

Minister Nguyen Van Hung: The Vietnam tourism development strategy issued by the Government in 2020 has clearly affirmed the strategy of domestic tourism development. In which, priority must be given to organizing well tours and routes to areas of historical and cultural landmarks of Vietnam.

In order to implement the above policy, over the past time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has implemented the program Vietnamese people travel to Vietnam. In particular, after the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic, the tourism business community has calculated to redirect and exploit potential customers in the new context and is currently implementing this content under the direction of the set.

Vietnamese tourists visit historic sites in Ninh Binh. (Photo: Xuan Mai / Vietnam +)

There are a number of approaches, firstly, travel businesses, accommodation establishments and tourism service providers are restructuring their operations, moving from welcoming large groups of tourists, making tours / services. route to small, safe family groups.

The second is to build tourism products based on historical relics, landscapes and indigenous cultures of regions and strengthen propaganda and advertising to bring tourism products closer to citizen.

In the short term, the tourism industry should focus in these two directions. However, even though it is small-scale tourism, it is not subjective to disease prevention, minimizing the risk of infection in the community that can happen again, affecting the overall economy of the country. society.

– Tourism businesses are currently extremely difficult after the continuous “blows” of COVID-19, so the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed solutions to the Government to have policies Supporting businesses to have more health “overcoming storms” and entering a new phase of the tourism industry is to focus on exploiting the domestic market, Minister?

Minister Nguyen Van Hung: Currently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is working with the Tourism Association to research and consider and submit to the Government policies to support businesses. However, it will only focus on the issue of mechanism, but in fact the State’s resources are also very difficult to immediately support the activities of tourism businesses. Therefore, the Government is studying a plan to support in the direction of exemption and reduction of land use tax and electricity bill exemption and reduction.

A corner of Bai Dinh pagoda seen from above. (Photo: Xuan Mai / Vietnam +)

As for long-term policies, the ministry needs to listen from the business community and the State appraisal agencies to submit to the Government a basic and balanced policy among other economic sectors.

Central solution in the context of “new normal”

– In 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has implemented many domestic stimulus campaigns such as Vietnamese traveling to Vietnam, safe and attractive Vietnam tourism … So in the context of “new normal. “In 2021, according to the Minister of the tourism industry, should such campaigns continue? How do you evaluate the effectiveness of those stimulus programs?

These campaigns have shown to initially meet the needs of people, contributing to domestic tourism growth. I think that these campaign models have been working and are being promoted, they need to continue to be strengthened and multiplied, because the reality is only piloted in a few localities.

To restore and develop tourism, we have to travel on both feet, focusing on welcoming international visitors and giving priority to developing domestic tourism. Only when standing with this “two legs” will tourism develop stably.

Recently, due to the “hot” development, we are paying attention to exploiting the number of international tourists but not paying much attention to domestic tourism. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the entire industry and business community to re-look at this open market, to see that domestic tourism is a radical direction and a pillar for sustainable tourism development. firm.

Therefore, the ministry has suggested businesses to restructure, change their approach, instead of focusing on international visitors, now focus on building plans to welcome domestic guests; shifting from serving foreign guests to serving domestic customers. As such, Vietnamese customers will inherit and experience high-value products that are intended for international customers.

Tourists come to Tam Chuc Pagoda. (Photo: Xuan Mai / Vietnam +)

As the data we know, on this 30/4 holiday, airlines have sold out tickets to many destinations across the country … Thereby to see that the domestic tourism demand of the people is quite high. The problem is that we need to create a unique product, pay attention to marketing and learn from the stimulus package first to achieve high efficiency and sustainability.

– So to build strong Vietnam tourism in a new context, according to the Minister, what solutions should the Minister focus on?

Minister Nguyen Van Hung: It can be said that the tourism industry is facing many difficulties. If tourism previously contributed 10% of the country’s GDP to the budget, from 2020 to Q1 / 2021, revenue from the whole industry decreased deeply; Last quarter 1, domestic tourists only reached nearly 18 million, down up to 50% over the same period last year …

From there, the tourism industry is facing difficulties because COVID-19 is still complicated. In particular, Vietnam has not yet been able to open its international market due to the lack of safety measures against epidemics.

We believe that the State management task is to develop a tourism development plan for the period 2021-2026 under new normal conditions and with the solution groups that we are focusing on building.

First, the tourism businesses, especially Travelers it is necessary to restructure soon, have solutions to manage human resources and resources; The second is to research the domestic market, restructure the tourist market to regulate the market, build products to meet the needs and the strategy must be long-term calculated for the development of the domestic tourism market. geography.

Third, tourism linkage must be based on special, distinctive and attractive tourism products and promote promotion and promotion. Branding products, connecting the values ​​and spreading the values ​​of the product to stimulate tourism demand of visitors; The fourth is to associate tourism, tourism products with cultural factors.

– Yes, thank you very much for your sharing!

Mr. Le Tan Thanh Tung – Deputy General Director of Vietnam Tourism Joint Stock Company (Vitours) said that the company’s visitors during the upcoming holidays increased 5-6 times compared to last year, equivalent to the peak time. Pick-up point on the occasion of 30/4 of 2019. For guests booking package tours, there are about 2,000 guests, while there are many retail customers. But according to Mr. Tung, retail customers come close to the new holiday because they fear that the disease might break out. In addition, this year’s trend mainly follows relatives and family groups; Therefore, the company provides a private car tour.

Many hotel and resort owners in Da Nang city said that the room capacity at this time reached 80%, many establishments were full. In addition to family and retail tourists, travel businesses in Da Nang have recorded many MICE delegations from 100 to 500 guests during the upcoming holidays.

Da Nang is ready to welcome visitors back on the occasion of April 30 – May 1.

Currently, most travel companies in Da Nang have restored tourism products that have attracted a great deal of attraction to domestic tourists. In which, focusing on 4 main product groups are the tour “Heritage Journey, Central Paradise”; new tours with high quality from 4-5 days but the price is only around 3 million VND / person; MICE tourism products for corporations and large enterprises; Finally, the group of products to partially stimulate demand, for example accommodation services, shuttle buses, destinations, daily tours, … including products with deep discounts or improving service quality.

Mr. Cao Tri Dung – Chairman of Da Nang City Tourism Association, said that up to this time, tours on the occasion of April 30 to May 1 have been almost confirmed and with very good signals, increased strongly compared with 2020 and nearly recovering compared to 2019, reaching about 80 – 90%. Last year, this time only about 10-20% of businesses reopened, but this year it increased to 70%.

“The annual capacity of welcoming tourists is about 30 million. So, from a business perspective, we affirm that Danang’s resources completely meet the needs of tourists, even with a larger number than today. Even when the international market fully recovers, Da Nang still has the resources and capacity to welcome and best serve tourists “- Mr. Cao Tri Dung said.