With a population of nearly 100 million and a long border with China, Vietnam’s maximum control of the epidemic has become a rare model of success in the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Ministry of Health’s update, as of June 7, Vietnam has recorded only 329 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no deaths. The above figures are the result of the quick decision to close the border with China, quarantine tens of thousands of people, check epidemiological history and an impressive testing program.
This has been recognized internationally recently in the media. Because of this initial success, Vietnam is one of the first countries in the world to allow people to travel domestically again.
In an article published in Bloomberg on June 7, author Clara Ferreira Marques highly appreciated Vietnam not only in controlling the epidemic but also in the reopening milestone that has caused domestic tourism to start strongly.
"Vietnamese people travel to Vietnam"
Bloomberg analyzed the actual situation of countries in the surrounding region, Thailand is still in a state of emergency, Singapore is "struggling" with hundreds of new infections and other countries in the region are only gradually easing restrictions. Therefore, opening up tourism steadily will be an important "tool" to help Vietnam recover its economy.
The government launched the “Vietnamese Travel Vietnam” campaign as the domestic aviation industry restarted with regular flights. Last year, Vietnam welcomed about 85 million domestic tourists – more than 80% of the total. Bloomberg notes that this is a “huge” number, even if Vietnamese people do not spend as much as foreign tourists.
According to the General Department of Tourism, travel agencies and businesses in many localities said that the number of domestic tourists has recently "skyrocketed", the number of customers registering for tours, services... is increasing day by day. This is a positive signal showing that the tourism industry has regained momentum. With the criteria of "Discount and safety", these key factors have encouraged domestic tourists to participate in tourism, spend and create millions of jobs in Vietnam at this time.
Vietnam’s plan is a more cautious version of those being developed by European countries racing to attract visitors during the peak summer months, according to Bloomberg.
Vietnam needs time to welcome international visitors
Vietnam will still need several more months to welcome foreign tourists, although domestic airlines have begun preparing for international flights.
Looking at Vietnam's tourism industry, Bloomberg commented: This is a clear sign that the global tourism industry - currently worth nearly 9,000 billion USD, will take a long time to operate again, when countries are trying to negotiate bilateral agreements on tourism. Independent analyst Brendan Sobie said that not all agreements are promising, even facing many restrictions to ensure safety and control the epidemic.
There are many challenges ahead. Which countries will get travel deals first and when they will start are two of the sticking points. Countries that have controlled the pandemic well, such as South Korea and New Zealand, are likely to be among the first to resume international travel.
Analyst Steven Schipani of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said isolated locations like Phu Quoc Island or closed resorts are likely to become the first destinations to welcome international tourists after Vietnam reopens international flights. Tourists will also not need to be quarantined for long periods but will instead pay mandatory fees for Covid-19 testing.
