The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has launched the ‘Vietnamese travel Vietnam’ campaign which aims to encourage domestic travel.
Tho said Vietnam has controlled COVID-19 well, but the situation around the world remains serious. Therefore, it is reasonable to stimulate domestic demand first, before resuming inbound and outbound tours.
Under the government regulations restricting air travel, foreign travelers still cannot come to Vietnam and Vietnamese cannot travel abroad.
Domestic market
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| The domestic market has been playing an increasingly important role in the development of the tourism industry for many years. |
The domestic market has been playing an increasingly important role in the development of the tourism industry for many years.
In early 1990s, travel firms only served several million domestic travelers each year, but the figures have increased rapidly in recent years. In 2019, the tourism sector received and serviced 89 million domestic travelers.
To date, all services related to tourism, from transport and accommodation to excursion sites and eatery services, are ready for a comeback.
According to Tho, unlike the tourism demand stimulus programs in the past, which were run in localities, the tourism demand stimulus alliance this year will be expanded throughout the country. Relevant units say they have completed their tourism programs.
“In principle, the period after social distancing will be the time for strong recovery. This is just like a spring which bounces back after being compressed. As Vietnam fought COVID-19 effectively, people will feel secure when traveling,” Tho said.
“Tourism will see a boom again,” he said, adding that leisure travel, eco-tourism, maritime tourism and culinary services will attract travelers the most.
Emphasizing the importance of the domestic stimulus campaign, Tho said these efforts will also help attract foreign travelers in the future.
Tran Doan The Duy, deputy CEO of Vietravel, said the firm has pioneered restarting the tourism market by launching demand stimulus packages with price discounts of up to 60 percent.
Duy said previously, quality and price discounts were the factors the travel firms focused on, but now ‘safety’ is the top priority when creating tourism products.
In addition to providing package tours, Vietravel also provides Free & Easy service which allows travelers to choose the services they want. The product is suited to families, groups of friends, or programs designed to specific requirements.
Thanh Mai
