A special moment for the tourism industry after more than 2 years of being heavily impacted by the pandemic

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Nhung - Deputy Director of Saigontourist Branch in Nghe An:

"Personally, I welcome and appreciate the efforts and determination of the Government, the General Department of Tourism, and state management agencies in opening and restoring tourism activities, includingtourisminternational. Through this, I also hope that policies will be flexible and implemented synchronously nationwide, from the central to local levels and relevant agencies; moving towards early normalization of policies as before the pandemic.

Departing the caravan tour "Discovering Western Nghe An" at Hon Mat Eco-tourism Area (Nghia Dan). Photo: Dinh Tuyen

In the past 2 years, the epidemic situation has been complicated in the area and the whole country, Saigontourist Nghe An branch has also flexibly operated according to the anti-epidemic policy of the system and the locality. Using online working methods for departments at the branch, and as soon as the epidemic situation was controlled, we quickly restored and opened for direct work, meeting the requirements of customers.

The tours in Nghe An are exploited and promoted by the branch such as the tour to explore the Western region of Nghe An, the tour of Uncle Ho's hometown - tea island, green tourist routes in the country and currently with the systemtravelSaigontourist opens and sells foreign tours to Dubai, Türkiye, Thailand, France, America...

We hope to receive more attention from local authorities, media agencies, newspapers and management agencies in coordinating and supporting Saigontourist in promoting the image of the province's tourism and Saigontourist's product lines to serve the needs of local people...".

Mr. Nguyen Huynh Suong - Director of Dong Duong Travel JSC:

"In my opinion, the solutionOpenThe return of tourism activities in the “new normal” conditions is very timely and appropriate. The plan to fully reopen domestic and international tourism activities will not only help to restore the tourism industry which is in a very difficult period, but also create conditions for other industries to enter a period of stability and development.

In the past 2 years, our company has only operated at a moderate level, mainly seizing some stable epidemic opportunities such as May, June, July 2020 and a short time in 2021 to serve a small number of tourists... The value brought is not large but it has partly maintained the minimum income for workers.

Currently, traveling is easy and convenient, but sometimes and in some places there are still inappropriate administrative procedures that hinder activities.restoretourism. We hope that the management agencies will step up propaganda and communication so that people can clearly understand the benefits of booking tours through travel agencies, creating conditions to help travel agencies in the province have many changes and transformations.

At the same time, I hope the State will have preferential policies on capital and human resource training for tourism so that tourism businesses can gradually recover and develop. There will be a clear plan and roadmap to open and move towards normalizing tourism activities, including domestic and international tourism."

Mr. Dang Trong Tan - Director of Hon Mat Service and Tourism Company Limited (Nghia Dan)

"Personally, I am very happy with the news about the time to open tourism activities nationwide and welcome international visitors. As the manager of a destination in Western Nghe An, I have been waiting for this decision for a long time. I think this is also a special moment for the tourism industry after more than 2 years of being heavily impacted bypandemic.

With the participation of all levels and sectors and achievements in Covid-19 vaccination, especially through promotional media channels, many people are ready to travel after 2 years of "struggling" to fight the pandemic. This can be considered a golden time for the tourism industry to recover and develop.

Over the past six months, although the Covid-19 epidemic is still complicated, our company has persisted and made efforts to build landscapes, strengthen infrastructure such as flower hills, bungalows, accommodation systems, restaurants, beautiful spaces for check-in to be ready for the day of reopening.

At present, the human resources serving the restaurant sector such as chefs, receptionists, and housekeeping staff are still lacking and weak, and even very difficult to recruit. The tourism management team is still inexperienced in handling, tourists are still apprehensive and the epidemic situation is still very complicated; communication and promotion work has not yet met the requirements of access.tourists.

The caravan "Discovering Western Nghe An" had a cultural exchange with the people of Co Muong village, Chau Kim commune (Que Phong). Photo: Dinh Tuyen

We hope that the tourism industry will pay more attention and promote human resource training. Relevant departments, branches, sectors and local authorities need to soon issue operating regulations, support the establishment of operating procedures, behavioral culture, and tourism organization principles for eco-tourism destinations and communities in localities...".

Mr. Dinh Ba Cuong - Nhat Minh General Agricultural Service Cooperative (Que Phong)

"I am really happy and full of confidence in the policy of reopening operations under the "new normal" conditions. For Famstay Nhat Minh in particular, and Western Nghe An tourism in general, the period affected by Covid-19 is an opportunity for localities and tourism workers to re-evaluate their potential, build and create unique tourism products for the region.

The reopening of tourism activities is an opportunity and a hope for the strong spread of beauty.Western Nghe Anbe accessed and experienced by tourists from near and far. This opportunity must be seized, because after long days of social distancing, the "awakening" of free emotions of a large number of tourists is an ideal condition for promotion and sharing...

Currently, we need specific guidelines on the issue of opening tourism in the new normal conditions to implement the plan to open to welcome tourists in accordance with regulations. And for community tourism to spread and develop, it is very necessary to have attention, orientation, sharing, and timely support from the beginning stage.

These are policies on human resource training, tourism knowledge, connection, promotion... to support on infrastructure, transportation, and parking for tourist destinations. There should be open conferences and seminars to listen, summarize and find sustainable directions for each region, avoiding hasty development, copying, spontaneous and lacking color...".

Mr. Dinh Trung Kien - Deputy Director of Saigon Kim Lien Hotel:

"Over the past two years, theCovid-19 epidemichas severely affected the business activities and workers' lives of the unit. The announcement of policies and plans to reopen tourism activities will facilitate the business recovery process. Create momentum for revenue from services, attract guests and create jobs and income for workers.

Like other units, since the beginning of 2020 until now, we have encountered many difficulties, with revenue decreasing. However, the unit always tries to ensure full policies on salary and insurance for employees, coordinates with Trade Unions at all levels to support and encourage families in difficulty, and wait patiently for the time to restore operations.business.

Currently, the unit's biggest challenge is still human resources, especially in the housekeeping, desk, and kitchen departments. Due to business difficulties, some employees have resigned and sought other jobs to ensure income. Therefore, the number of employees is in short supply, and urgent training plans must be developed.

Faced with these difficulties, the unit hopes to continue to receive rent reductions and support for electricity and water prices. We hope that the tourism industry will soon organize professional training courses for some departments to meet the needs of guests staying here...".

Cong Kien