HCMC, eight northwestern provinces boost tourism cooperation

The statement was made by Vice secretary of the Party Committee of the Northern province of Ha Giang Nguyen Van Son at the conference promoting the linkage in tourism between HCMC and eight cities and provinces in the Northwest region that was held in Ha Giang City, Ha Giang Province on December 11.

The tourism cooperation, sharing experience in building and developing, plans of welcoming tourism services between HCMC and localities in the northwestern region have been implemented by using online networking sites over the past time despite the pandemic.

The conference is expected to boost the development of specific tourist products of the Northwestern region and effective pandemic control to ensure safe tourism for travelers, said the provincial Party’s leader.

Speaking at the event, Director of the HCMC Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said that the city’s tourism industry has focused on digital transformation and strengthen the high-tech application in tourism activities in accordance with safe and flexible adaptation and effective control over the Covid-19 pandemic. The department has launched a collection of tourism resources on the platforms of Google Map, Google Earth and the new version of the department’s website at www.visithcmc.vn introducing the HCMC Tourism Day 2021 opening on December 4- 25.

In addition, the localities could learn about HCMC’s set of safety assessment criteria for tourism to create advantage for tourist activities that has been effectively implemented in the city and Mekong Delta provinces and cities.

Deputy General Director of Saigon Tourism Corporation (Saigontourist Group) cum Vice Chairman of the HCMC Tourism Association, Vo Anh Tai said that the company has coordinated with localities to offer tours to Northern provinces and cities of Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Lao Cai. The trips aim to bring visitors many interesting experiences and contribute to the local sustainable economic growth, focus on developing the unique tourist products and encouraging local communities' participation to the sustainability of tourism industry to share benefit from tourist project.

HCMC and eight provinces and cities in the Northwestern region need to launch a common safety method for risk assessment and evaluation to help visitors infected with Covid-19, he suggested.

According to General Director of Vietravel Tourist Company Tran Doan The Duy, Vietravel has built many tours to the Northwestern region. HCMC and localities should need a flexible specific mechanism on tourism recovery, and come an agreement on trans-provincial transport, prevention and control regulations, and safety assessment criteria.

Speaking at the conference, Vice Chairwoman of the HCMC People’s Committee Phan Thi Thang said that HCMC’s tourism industry has contributed about 10-12 percent of the GRDP (Gross Regional Domestic Product) before the pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has badly affected the city’s tourism sector for nearly two years with a mass closure of travel agents, hotels, entertainment venues, food and drink facilities.

The People’s Committee of HCMC has proposed the Prime Minister and Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism to approve a pilot plan on receiving international vaccinated visitors to the city in three phases within one year from this December with the principle of safe and flexible adaptation and effective control over the Covid-19 pandemic.

The city’s tourism sector has proposed localities to create most favorable conditions for the mutual effective tourism exploitation, contributing to the domestic tourism development and socioeconomic growth as well as issue solutions to solve businesses’ problems, diversify tourist products and carry out tourism promotional programs and activities.