The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the tourism sector; however, it is also a test for the adaptive capacity of tourist destinations.
While many localities struggled or even froze because of the pandemic, Quang Ninh has still achieved stable growth over the past two years. In summer 2020, the number of visitors to the locality was even higher than of the same period in 2019.
In the first nine months of 2021, Quang Ninh greeted around 2.6 million travellers and gained more than 5 trillion VND in total tourism revenue. The province aims to welcome another 2 million tourists while achieving a total revenue of 4 – 4.5 trillion VND in the fourth quarter of this year.
With the strategy of establishing itself as a safe destination and offering vacationers attractive promotions and interesting tourist products, Quang Ninh has become a tourist magnet in Vietnam’s northern region.
Speaking at the seminar themed ‘Quang Ninh tourism in the new normal state: Opportunities and Challenges’, which was held recently by the provincial Tourism Department and the Sun Group, Director of the Department, Pham Ngoc Thuy recalled that in 2020, once the pandemic was basically put under control, Quang Ninh’s tourism industry immediately reopened to facilitate the recovery of travel businesses.
Quang Ninh province has taken the lead among localities in adopting tough measures to contain the pandemic; however, it has also actively taken prompt actions in the reopening of tourist activities, he said.
In addition, the provincial authorities have focused great attention to improving the infrastructure in order to facilitate tourism and socio-economic development, while creating new and high-quality tourist products that meet international standards.
Bao Hai Linh Thong Tu Pagoda
Thanks to the full participation of leading economic groups, including Sun Group, Quang Ninh has developed a complete transport infrastructure for leisure travel and entertainment activities.
Many fresh tourist products have been launched for visitors to Quang Ninh, such as the opening of the Japanese-style hot mineral resort Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh, Bao Hai Linh Thong Tu cultural and spiritual complex, a new restaurant at the Premier Village Halong Bay Resort, and new entertainment services at Sun World Ha Long Park amusement complex.
The new tourist products and services have received positive feedback from tourists all over the country, contributing to helping the local hospitality sector in its recover after COVID-19.
Besides Sun Group, many other corporations and travel businesses have also launched new products, creating motivation to rejuvenate Quang Ninh’s tourism in the new context.
Accordingly, Saigontourist Travel Service Company is deploying detox tours to Legacy Yen Tu Resort, Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh, and Premier Village Halong Bay Resort, targeting high-income travellers who want to improve their health and seek high-class services.
Quang Ninh is also seeking to enhance tourism connectivity with neighbouring localities which have fundamentally controlled the pandemic in order to become more attractive to tourists.
The province is also hosting a series of 50 tourism promotional events and activities to stimulate tourism demand and promote itself as a safe, friendly and alluring destination.
