Tourism needs the strategy for the post-pandemic quick recovery
The previous plans driven into "bankruptcy”
One still remembers that after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out first in China, then in some Asian countries, at this time, Hue tourism in particular and the country in general were quite "confident” of receiving and serving tourists from Western Europe, North America, and Australia. "Safe destination" is a message that is strongly communicated to attract tourists and is also seen as a solution for the tourism sector to maintain its operation in difficult circumstances.
A series of products and stimulus packages are discussed and officially applied to attract customers. But all the calculations were off beam when the pandemic has become more difficult to control within the country since the detection of the 17th patient later.
The world situation gets more complicated. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread to the Middle East, Europe and Australia. To date, America has been seen as a complex “outbreak”, and the US has been the world "hot spot" until April 21, 2020.
It can be seen that from the small sites, the pandemic has spread all over the world. Tourism is widely influenced and paralyzed globally. Even those crazy about traveling are forced to stay home from the pandemic. At present, whether a destination is sustainable or unsustainable, safe or unsafe is becoming a question for the global tourism industry.
Mr. Dinh Manh Thang, Vice President of Vietnam Tourism Association, Chairman of the Provincial Tourism Association judged that since the outbreak of the pandemic, all the solutions for controlling the pandemic, ensuring a safe destination, temporary stimulus packages ... have been implemented by Hue tourism sector. However, the pandemic, like an invisible weapon, surpassed all the calculations.
Also according to Mr. Thang, this is the biggest "crisis" in tourism that the world, Vietnam and Hue in particular have ever gone through. Sustainable tourism development, minimizing risks is what, after the end of the pandemic, will have to be re-evaluated by the tourism sector in Vietnam and Hue in a comprehensive and specific way.
Tourists to Hue before social distancing
Prioritizing the domestic stimulus
The current question for all, not just tourism, is when the pandemic will be brought under control. The recent forecasts say that the world will be likely to control the pandemic after Vietnam in about 2-3 months. If the world contains the pandemic in August 2020, then Vietnam will control it in May 2020. However, it is just a forecast; a precise reality lies ahead.
Other questions exclusively for the tourism sector are when tourists "move", and when the factors of safe destinations, psychological defrosting, and most importantly economy will no longer dominate tourists because of the pandemic.
The questions posed are whether tourists will soon travel again and where the funding is while the pandemic does great harm. According to tourist experts, first and foremost, it is necessary to analyze who the tourists are.
The pandemic has made a huge impact, but those who accumulated money before will travel after a period of tension due to the pandemic. The repression has long been another stimulus to tourists. Although not universal, it also partially helps the destination to have a certain initial number of tourists.
According to tourism businesses, in order to attract tourists back soon, Hue must provide the strong stimulus mechanisms. What will domestic tourists to Hue be promoted in the post-pandemic period? The mechanisms and policies to promote destinations should be attractive enough… are what Hue tourism needs to do right now.
Seizing new opportunities
According to the recent statistics released by Vietnam Administration of Tourism, despite a total population of about 750 million, Europe is the world’s largest travel market. Specifically, in 2017, European tourists accounted for 31.7% of the total international tourists worldwide. In 2018, they accounted for 45.8% of the total international tourists to developing countries at a growth rate of 7.2%.
The Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) comes into effect is a great step forward in the economic development cooperation in general and tourism in particular. It is expected to offer opportunities for many fields, Hue’s tourism included.
Mr. Le Ngoc Sanh, Chief of Office of the Department of Tourism judged that this is a new opportunity for the tourism sector to access traditional tourists in Europe in an intensive and extensive way. Previously, although eager to promote destinations, increase investment attraction from European markets, Hue businesses are not strong enough in the frequency and form of access on account of the quite limited resources.
Evidently, EVFTA is opening up many favorable conditions for the tourism industry, especially developing business activities through the commitments and incentives for various types of services such as hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, tour operators, tour guide services.
According to the Department of Tourism, Europe is a traditional market maintaining a stable number of tourists to Hue over many years. The advantage of Hue is a favorite destination for European tourists thanks to the diversity and richness of culture, beautiful scenery and friendly people
With these advantages, Hue continues to target European tourists, who have long traveling time and high expenditure level in the post-pandemic period.
It is our belief that when there is cooperation, a series of good diplomatic, trade and tourism mechanisms will be established. First of all, it is necessary to make the most of the ties to promote the image together. More importantly, there is a need to sign commercial contracts and attract more investors from Europe. Bilateral business cooperation in the field of tourism is an open opportunity for Hue if we proactively seize it well
By Duc Quang