Responding to Tuoi Tre Online on December 28, Mr. Nguyen Van Son - Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee - affirmed that after an unprecedented difficult period due to COVID-19, Hoi An tourism industry has made a spectacular comeback with soaring revenue. The most obvious example is the number of visitors to the ancient town.
"The ticket sales figures for the Old Quarter are real, not virtual"
Luxury resorts in Hoi An currently have an average of 50% room occupancy - Photo: BD
According to the People's Committee of Hoi An City, as of December 28, the entire city of Hoi An welcomed 4 million visitors to tourist attractions in 2023; of which international visitors are still the majority with more than 3 million, an increase of more than 330% compared to 2022.
The large number of visitors to Hoi An has also led to a gradual recovery of accommodation services. Hotels, resorts, villas, etc. are opening and recruiting more staff. Room occupancy has reached 50%.
In 2023, Hoi An will collect a total of more than 190 billion VND from ticket sales to the ancient town. In addition, tens of billions of VND will be collected from other destinations such as Cu Lao Cham, Cam Thanh coconut forest, Thanh Ha pottery village...
If we compare the above data, we can see that the amount of money sold for tickets to the main tourist attraction in Hoi An City, the walking street, has increased... nearly 200 times compared to 1.4 billion VND in 2021.
From a destination with an average of 5 million visitors per year, since the COVID-19 pandemic, Hoi An has witnessed an unprecedented difficult period. Revenue from ticket sales to visit the ancient town in 2020 reached 32 billion VND, by 2021 it dropped to 1.4 billion VND, and by 2022 it increased to 42 billion VND.
When Hoi An announced this data, many opinions expressed concerns. Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee Nguyen Van Son affirmed that this is a socio-economic report, carefully reviewed and compiled by departments.
This data reflects Hoi An's tourism recovery efforts, including the high frequency of overseas trips to promote and invite visitors to return to Hoi An from city leaders.
Old Quarter tourism has cooled down
Nightly Bai Choi art program serving visitors to Hoi An ancient town - Photo: BD Nightly Bai Choi art program serving visitors to Hoi An ancient town - Photo: BD
According to Tuoi Tre Online reporters, the tourism business atmosphere in Hoi An has gradually become vibrant again after many years of cooling down.
Thanks to the nightly art activities that are maintained, the number of visitors to Hoi An not only increases month by month, but the number of days staying has also reached 2 days/person/trip.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Ly - Vice Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee - said that renting out old government houses in Hoi An ancient town was very difficult a few years ago. However, recently when organizing an auction for 11 houses, the enterprise won the bid with a price higher than the starting price.
Nowadays, going into the old town center, many shops have reopened. The number of signs advertising old houses for rent and sale has decreased compared to previous years.
On real estate business groups, each ad for renting an old house always receives a lot of attention with the common price ranging from 20 million VND to hundreds of millions of VND per old house, depending on location and area.
Hoi An City also organizes more systematic pick-up and drop-off stations to serve customers, increasing revenue from ticket sales.
Outside the old town, Cam Thanh coconut forest has now witnessed a strong return from tourist groups. Every day, this destination welcomes an average of 3,000 visitors, mainly Korean tourists. Restaurants, shopping areas, and wharfs are always packed with customers during peak hours.
Many accommodation businesses have made a profit.
Responding to information about many hotels and tourist facilities facing difficulties, being foreclosed by banks or being put up for sale or lease..., Mr. Nguyen Van Son said this is true but falls into the group of some businesses "using tourism as financial leverage".
Since 2019, tourism difficulties have caused revenue to decline, increasing pressure to repay bank loans, leading to some businesses losing liquidity.
"Many large businesses operating purely in tourism, with a long-standing foundation in Hoi An, despite difficulties, have still survived and are now profitable again. The number of room bookings at large, branded accommodations is always at a high level," Mr. Son affirmed.
