The delegation of Korean experts coming to Hue for surveying after Vietnam reopened borders
International tourists came back
On April 15, two German tourists arrived in Hue after a few days of entering Vietnam. This is the first two pure tourists coming for traveling that Alba Spa Hotel has received after Vietnam tourism reopened on March 15.
Representative of Alba Spa Hotel informed that previously, many international tourists having chosen to stay in were business tourists who were working in Vietnam. Particularly, these two German tourists are the ones coming to Hue after our country re-openness.
Sara, a tourist, said that she had planned to Hue before the outbreak of the pandemic. After two years of being delayed, right after receiving the information that Vietnam reopened the country’s borders, she decided to start her trip with excitement.
Coming to Hue and being warmly welcomed, many tourists feel safe in terms of pandemic prevention of the province; Hue is a friendly destination and has various unique beautiful natural landscapes attracting tourists.
A few days later, Hanoi - Vietnam Tourism Joint Stock Company – Hue Brand welcomed 2 tourists coming from Spain who came for visiting and discovering Ancient Capital culture and heritage. The boutiques of fresh flowers given to the two tourists seemed to express the joy of tourism-working people after a long time of waiting and now, finally, they got a chance to officially welcome and serve international tourists.
Hanoi - Vietnam Tourism Joint Stock Company – Hue Brand also said that, according to the plan to the end of 2022, the company would receive around 30 delegations of international tourists coming from Hue’s traditional markets such as France, Australia, Spain, and Germany.
Also at this time, the Green Viet Travel Co. Ltd. received 4 tourist delegations from Laos to Hue for traveling, going by road through Lao Bao Border Gate (Quang Tri); each delegation covers from 20 to 30 tourists; as well as received 2 tourist delegations from Thailand traveling to the Central Region (flying directly to Da Nang) and to Hue to visit and enjoy the services.
Mr. Do Ngoc Co, Director of Green Viet Travel Co. Ltd. said that travel demand has restored. As for the company, they would welcome more Laos tourist delegations coming by road in late April and May.
After a time without traveling, the demands are mainly visiting heritage and enjoying the unique cuisine in Hue. Laos tourists came to Hue with the most convenient conditions when they just had to stop at Lao Bao Border Gate to take COVID-19 quick test. The open-door policy of Vietnam is a favorable condition for more tourists to travel, hence, increasing the competitiveness of destinations in the world.
Two Spanish tourists coming to Hue after the border openness
Pioneering in meeting the demand
According to the Provincial Tourism Association, through carrying out market and information researching from the main travel agencies specializing in the flows of international tourists, the recovery of international tourists in Vietnam is good. Many traditional tourist markets have highly appreciated and suggested tourists to come to Vietnam right after they have favorable conditions.
Various nearer markets are basically willing to come to Hue for traveling. As for European market and some other countries with flight routes through Europe, they still haven’t made decisions to travel yet due to the war situation.
Over the past time, Hue has welcomed a great number of partners coming to survey and re-evaluate post-pandemic services and heading to take tourists to Hue. This is a move showing that international market will keep on further recovering. Pacific Travel Service Co., Ltd committed that from now to the end of this year, they will take around 15,000 tourist arrivals to Hue.
Mrs. Le Thi Da Lam, General Manager of Pilgrimage Village informed that their partners planned to take tourists to Hue. The resort will welcome the European tourist delegations back in June. The markets reaching the earliest recovery are Italy and Spain. The further the time goes to the end of the year, the greater frequency the number of tourist delegations will reach.
“Customers’ demands have changed. Previously, international tourists travelling in groups of 40 – 50 people. Now, the groups are downsized to small ones or groups of families of about 10 people and under. Despite of the few tourists, the number of staying days has increased up to 1 week per trip, instead of around 3 days as before. The trend of traveling in recent days is choosing high-end and resort-oriented services, as well as choosing self-contained services right at the resorts,” informed Mrs. Lam.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Vice Director of Tourism Department said that the plans to welcome and serve international tourists are well prepared. The services and products are also completed and improved. There is only a detail that need consideration is the situations of handling the infected tourists when they are in their trips.
Basically, when tourists get infection and make demands, the accommodation establishments with ensured facilities will have the quarantine area right in the hotels. Particularly in the case of having to receive treatment at Hue International Hospital, the accommodation and travel businesses need to pay attention to the hospital fees. It is also necessary for the businesses to pay attention to the insurance for tourists, including informing the guests in advance, aiming to reach the full trips.
Story and photos: Duc Quang