Tourism freezes, billion-dollar yachts are crowded in Quang Ninh

A ship owner said, ‘The ship does not go to sea but still has to maintain maintenance and care personnel, and the bank debt keeps increasing’.

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.