Positive signs
In Da Lat City, positive signals about tourism in the last months of the year have begun to appear. In the past, visitors often gathered on holidays and weekends. The number of visitors now spreads evenly on any day of the week, with the highest number of visitors seen from Thursday to Sunday. Mr. Vo Quang Thuong from Lam Dong Tourism Joint Stock Company said that at the attractions of the company, although the number of visitors has not increased robustly, there has been a certain recovery. For instance, the Clay Sculpture Tunnel, on average, welcomes 800-1,000 visitors per day. On weekends, the number of visitors is even higher.
Taking care of her flower garden, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Mai, the owner of Colmar Dalat Homestay with more than ten rooms, said that after a period of slump, visitors now have booked almost the rooms of the homestay at weekends. She said that whether there are tourists or not, she often takes care of the precinct and ready the rooms to welcome guests at any time.
The survey shows that many large hotels in Da Lat have seen the number of visitors going up by 90 percent on weekends and at a moderate level of 50-60 percent on weekdays.
In Da Lat City, positive signals about tourism in the last months of the year have begun to appear. In the past, visitors often gathered on holidays and weekends. The number of visitors now spreads evenly on any day of the week, with the highest number of visitors seen from Thursday to Sunday. Mr. Vo Quang Thuong from Lam Dong Tourism Joint Stock Company said that at the attractions of the company, although the number of visitors has not increased robustly, there has been a certain recovery. For instance, the Clay Sculpture Tunnel, on average, welcomes 800-1,000 visitors per day. On weekends, the number of visitors is even higher.
Taking care of her flower garden, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Mai, the owner of Colmar Dalat Homestay with more than ten rooms, said that after a period of slump, visitors now have booked almost the rooms of the homestay at weekends. She said that whether there are tourists or not, she often takes care of the precinct and ready the rooms to welcome guests at any time.
The survey shows that many large hotels in Da Lat have seen the number of visitors going up by 90 percent on weekends and at a moderate level of 50-60 percent on weekdays.
Tourists visit Lam Vien Square in Dalat City. (Photo: SGGP)
Khanh Hoa Province was strongly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic when international visitors were almost absent. However, domestic tourists have been flocking to make the beaches in Nha Trang and Cam Ranh cities crowded again. In Binh Thuan Province, statistics by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism show that when the pandemic was under control, optimistic signals have appeared. The average occupancy here is from 25 percent to 40 percent, a decrease of 30-50 percent compared to last year, but it somewhat has created excitement for local travel companies.
International quality, domestic prices
When the second wave of Covid-19 was gradually controlled, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan Province promulgated a plan to launch the program “Vietnamese people travel to Vietnamese destinations” to stimulate domestic tourism demand. The slogan "Binh Thuan people travel to Binh Thuan’s destinations" quickly spread and was responded to by the people. Several local tourism companies have launched many promotional packages to attract visitors to resorts. With only VND150,000 to VND500,000, tourists can come to rest, have breakfast, and enjoy other services at three to four-star resorts and hotels that usually cost several millions of Vietnamese dong per day or more.
Ms. Nguyen Kim Bich, a kindergarten teacher in Mui Ne Ward in Phan Thiet City of Binh Thuan Province, said that despite living in the capital of the resorts of Vietnam, she has never stepped foot to any resort because she cannot afford it with her modest income. However, lately, she and her husband spent VND350,000 per person to visit Saigon - Mui Ne Resort to experience its services because the price was much cheaper compared to normal days.
Many resort owners and tourism companies in Binh Thuan Province admitted that this tourism stimulus program has not only created opportunities for local people and domestic tourists to experience and explore local services and landscapes, but it also has contributed to maintaining operations, as well as generating income for tourism companies, which have already suffered much because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides the efforts of businesses, the tourism industry of Binh Thuan Province has boldly put forward many initiatives and solutions to overcome the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, including the program "Oh Wow! Mui Ne”. In which, it was the first time in Vietnam, a tourist destination issued up to 1 million free VIP cards for tourists when traveling to Mui Ne.
When the second wave of Covid-19 was gradually controlled, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan Province promulgated a plan to launch the program “Vietnamese people travel to Vietnamese destinations” to stimulate domestic tourism demand. The slogan "Binh Thuan people travel to Binh Thuan’s destinations" quickly spread and was responded to by the people. Several local tourism companies have launched many promotional packages to attract visitors to resorts. With only VND150,000 to VND500,000, tourists can come to rest, have breakfast, and enjoy other services at three to four-star resorts and hotels that usually cost several millions of Vietnamese dong per day or more.
Ms. Nguyen Kim Bich, a kindergarten teacher in Mui Ne Ward in Phan Thiet City of Binh Thuan Province, said that despite living in the capital of the resorts of Vietnam, she has never stepped foot to any resort because she cannot afford it with her modest income. However, lately, she and her husband spent VND350,000 per person to visit Saigon - Mui Ne Resort to experience its services because the price was much cheaper compared to normal days.
Many resort owners and tourism companies in Binh Thuan Province admitted that this tourism stimulus program has not only created opportunities for local people and domestic tourists to experience and explore local services and landscapes, but it also has contributed to maintaining operations, as well as generating income for tourism companies, which have already suffered much because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides the efforts of businesses, the tourism industry of Binh Thuan Province has boldly put forward many initiatives and solutions to overcome the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, including the program "Oh Wow! Mui Ne”. In which, it was the first time in Vietnam, a tourist destination issued up to 1 million free VIP cards for tourists when traveling to Mui Ne.
Hotels and homestays take care of the precincts to welcome visitors at any time. (Photo: SGGP)
Mr. Tran Ngoc Dung, Vice Chairman of the Tourism Association of Binh Thuan Province, said that participants are allowed to introduce their preferential products and services on promotional channels, and their services are guaranteed. This is the time when tourism enterprises need to join hands to overcome difficulties and crises. The Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Binh Thuan Province, the tourism industry of Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces, and Vietravel Tourism Company signed a memorandum of understanding and agreed on solutions to stimulate demand to recover the tourism market. This is the first program to be piloted in four provinces and cities in the Southeast region organized by Vietravel, with the name "Safe Tourism - Safe to travel". In Khanh Hoa Province, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, Deputy Director of the provincial Tourism Department, the province wants to pass the message "Nha Trang is safe and attractive" to tourists. The attractiveness of Nha Trang includes the natural landscape, the attraction of the indigenous culture, and the quality of service. Travel companies offer many incentives to attract customers. Visitors to Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa can enjoy world-class resort services at domestic prices. However, according to Mr. Phan Dinh Thao, General Director of Global Open Tour Joint Stock Company, to attract domestic tourists to Khanh Hoa Province, it is essential to synchronously implement many solutions and the interdisciplinary cooperation between tourism and aviation industries to make good use of routes that have not been effectively exploited before. Moreover, tourism companies need "handshakes" to create unique and sustainable products and services to exploit together.
Thanks to many initiatives and solutions to ensure safety for tourists, Binh Thuan Province’s tourism has recovered. (Photo: SGGP)
While waiting for the resumption of commercial flights with other countries, some travel agencies specializing in organizing international tours in Da Lat City have flexibly switched to organizing domestic tours. Besides, several local businesses have committed to participating in the stimulus program "Da Lat - the region of love" with many preferential activities lasting until the end of this year. For instance, Lam Dong Tourism Joint Stock Company runs the stimulus program "Combo check-in" with a price of VND150,000 for group guests and VND200,000 for retail customers, including visiting Langbiang Tourist Area, Da Lat One-Way Cable Car, Datanla Waterfall, and the Clay Sculpture Tunnel. Other attractions, such as Prenn Waterfall, Golden Valley, Dalat Flower Garden, and Lam Dong Museum, all decrease the entrance tickets by 20-30 percent. Viet Challenge Co., Ltd. offers a 40-percent discount on Datanla Waterfall tour to VND990,000 and applies incentives for tours to Dalat for two days and one night at VND1.24 million if stay at 3-star hotels and VND1.44 million if stay at 4-star hotels. Four-star hotel Lasapinette offers a discount of 40-50 percent and free taxi to and fro the downtown by the hour. Sammy Hotel and the four-star resort Tea Resort give discounts from 30-55 for all types of room and a 10-percent discount on catering service.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Lam Dong Province, said that shortly, the department would welcome about 50 travel companies from the Mekong Delta provinces to survey and evaluate local tourism services. This is an opportunity for travel agencies to act as a direct bridge to bring tourists to Da Lat City. The province would also promote the connection with neighboring provinces, such as Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan provinces, to attract visitors. At the same time, it would focus on attracting tourists from key markets, namely Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Western provinces, the Central coastal provinces, and the Northern provinces in the future.
