HCMC builds roadmap to restore tourism

The Department of Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City, on the afternoon of October 16, announced a program to implement the plan to restore the city's tourism in the conditions of safely adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic with the content emphasizing each stage of recovery and identifying clear roadmap and solutions suitable to reality.
HCMC builds roadmap to restore tourism ảnh 1 The Department of Tourism of HCMC announces a new version of HCMC's tourism promotion page at www.visithcmc.vn. (Photo: SGGP)
Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Department of Tourism, said it would gradually deploy the program in three phases.

Phase 1 (from the beginning of October to the end of October 31): the city will reopen intra-regional tourism and pilot inter-provincial tourism. Accordingly, tourists living and working in HCMC can travel by themselves or in groups to attractions in the area. Accommodation facilities and attractions can operate at a maximum capacity of 50 percent.

Phase 2 (from November 1 to December 31): the city will promote intra-regional tourism and open inter-provincial tourism. Lodging services can operate at a maximum capacity of 70 percent, and the reopening of some other services, such as on-site dining and spa, will be considered.

Phase 3 (in 2022): all tourism activities and products in HCMC will be restored, regardless of type, scale, and scope.

On this occasion, the HCMC Department of Tourism announced that the HCMC Tourism Resource Kit, including 366 resources, had been completed and updated on the online navigation platform Google Map and Google Earth. Among these, there are 13 destinations with the value of natural and ecological resources, 225 attached with the value of tangible cultural resources, eight activities associated with intangible tourism resources formed from folk festivals, modern festivals, and traditional practices, and 120 destinations attached with the value of human-made works. The Department of Tourism also announced a new version of HCMC's tourism promotion page at www.visithcmc.vn, and launched a program of 100,000 travel vouchers for frontline workers in the fight against the pandemic.

Vice Chairwoman of HCMC People's Committee Phan Thi Thang emphasized that tourism restoration activities must ensure the pandemic safety principle, as well as focus on building safe human resources, safe destinations, and safe tourism services. In the near future, the People's Committee of HCMC assigned the Department of Tourism to coordinate with Thu Duc City and districts to reorganize attractions, streets, accommodation, shopping, and dining service establishments in a way that guarantees safety and quality and takes customer satisfaction as a criterion for implementation. Besides, the city would proactively connect with provinces and cities to develop safe inter-regional routes and destinations, strengthen the application of information technology to improve operational efficiency, and ensure safety for visitors and laborers. It is necessary to promote the effectiveness of the link successfully established with more than 40 provinces in the 2019-2020 period to resume and restart. First, the department must focus on selecting Covid-19-free areas in provinces and cities to form closed tours and ensure consensus on safety criteria among provinces. HCMC's tourism industry must recover quickly, bringing the true values of quality in life.

On the morning of October 16, the water bus route No.1 Bach Dang - Linh Dong in HCMC officially resumed operation after nearly half a year of hiatus. The ship ensures 50 percent capacity according to the regulations of safe transportation activities amid pandemic prevention. On the first day of operation, the number of passengers was still small.

On the same day, some inter-provincial passenger transport routes resumed operations, but there were not many passengers. However, according to the Board of Directors of Mien Dong Bus Station, more than 40 passenger transport enterprises have registered to operate again and planned to sell tickets and receive passengers. On the morning of October 16, many people bought tickets at Saigon Railway Station in District 3. Most of them were elders and freelance workers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, Saigon Railway Station has received some passenger trains from Hanoi.

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