Ho Chi Minh City’s determination to welcome back tourists in safety
The COVID-19 pandemic left a devastating impact on all elements of social life in the two years of 2020-2021. In which, tourism and aviation are the first and most severely affected by the pandemic since the majority of countries have imposed restrictions on international travel.
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As the Solar New Year and Lunar New Year are approaching, the demand of overseas Vietnamese to visit their homeland to celebrate Tet holidays, as well as the need to travel from foreign tourists is increasing sharply. This is considered a golden opportunity for the tourism and service industry to recover.
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| Ho Chi Minh City has high hope for tourism recovery. (Photo: VietTravel) |
On December 23, the Government Portal organized a virtual seminar titled “Ho Chi Minh City reopens to welcome international travelers and overseas Vietnamese safely and thoughtfully”. Speaking at the seminar, Director General of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh said that if there is any delay in reopening of international commercial flights, Viet Nam will lose the opportunity to attract tourists.
Not only that, Viet Nam may miss the chance for other sectors to recover, and, more dangerously, lose the tourism industry's and economy's competitiveness.
With Ho Chi Minh City defining tourism as a vital economic sector, focusing on tourism recovery will contribute to the restoration of other industries. However, more efforts are required to fully achieve the "new normal" in the current context.
An open door
Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh believes that the Government's Resolution 128 on the safe, flexible adaption, and effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to restore socio-economic activities is the correct and appropriate policy.
At the same time, with the right vaccine strategy, Viet Nam has administered 140 million doses of vaccine, achieving herd immunity.
Furthermore, after two years and four pandemic waves, Viet Nam's capacity in pandemic prevention and control has been significantly improved. In the last year, people's understanding of pandemic prevention has greatly improved.
Faced with the new circumstances, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has agreed to a plan that would resume regular international flights, carrying passengers to areas with a high safety rate, starting from January 1, 2022.
According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, this is necessary and it also has a practical meaning, especially at the end of the year. The tourism and aviation industries will benefit from the restoration of international commercial lines.
In addition, relevant ministries and sectors have coordinated to take a number of steps in preparing for the reopening of commercial flights.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working hard to recognize other countries' immunization certificates so that when international travelers need to enter Viet Nam, they can use that certificate as their passport.
The Ministry of Health has also released Guideline No. 4510688, which covers a wide range of topics and regulations for those wishing to visit Viet Nam.
These are new steps in Viet Nam's pandemic prevention and control, according to the Director-General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
Meanwhile, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh, Deputy General Director of Vietjet Air, the new Government’s policy and Ministry of Health’s directions are an excellent signal, a crucial sign indicating "the door has opened".
Determination to recover
At the virtual seminar, Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said that, since mid-November 2021, the city’s People's Committee has sent an official dispatch to the Prime Minister, requesting clearance for the pilot program of welcoming international guests using "vaccine passports", on the basis of safety reopening and in line with the government's guidelines.
In 2022, Ho Chi Minh City will enter phase 3 of the reopening plan, with the goal of reviving all tourism activities without any limitations. The city has highlighted several main objectives, including:
Firstly, re-evaluate the effectiveness of phase 1 and phase 2, in order to come up with suitable steps and plans.
Secondly, advise the HCMC People's Committee on the adjustment and finalization of the set of criteria for assessing COVID-19 safety measures in tourism, so that the industry has a framework and criteria to work with, in order to ensure the protection of visitors to Ho Chi Minh City.
Thirdly, coordinate and support businesses to promote their brands on all platforms, particularly digital transformation, and sharing information with international partners. The strategy entails using e-commerce and information technology platforms to promote the products of these businesses.
Lastly, improve the quality of service and develop the city's identity and characteristics in order to attract more tourists in 2022 and subsequent years, under the motto "open, energetic, exciting, forward-looking".
Although the COVID-19 pandemic remains complicated due to the development of new variants, the city has been meticulously prepared. With the massive participation of ministries, departments, branches, and the government, we can firmly believe that HCMC’s tourism industry in particular, and the country as a whole, will skyrocket in the year 2022.
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