great potential for domestic tourism
By mid-April, hotels and resorts in Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Phan Thiet, and Ho Tram all recorded high demand for bookings for the holiday season.
According to data released by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), during the peak service period of the holiday (from April 28, 2021 to May 2, 2021), the airports under this unit served nearly 1.5 million passengers. Compared to the April 30 - May 1 holiday in 2019 (with a similar number of days off and not yet affected by the Covid-19 epidemic), the domestic passenger volume this year increased by 30%.
This shows that the demand and potential for domestic tourism is huge. In the context that international commercial flights have not yet been reconnected, domestic tourism is the focus of tourism development.
Trouble comes
The recent outbreak has once again affected the country’s tourism industry, with air-accessible destinations such as Da Nang and Nha Trang recording many cancellations right before the holidays when information about the first cases of infection was announced.
According to the report of the Da Nang Department of Tourism, during the April 30 and May 1 holidays, the total number of visitors and tourists in Da Nang decreased by 42% compared to the forecast before the holidays. Major events and festivals in Da Nang were also suspended due to the complicated developments of the epidemic.
On the contrary, easily accessible locations such as Ho Tram, Vung Tau, and Da Lat still see increased demand near the holidays when many families are concerned about the risk of infection when traveling by air.
Traffic jam on the road to Da Lat on April 30 - May 1 (photo: Zing.vn).
Mr. Mauro Gasparotti - Director of Savills Hotels Asia Pacific commented: “The fourth wave of Covid-19 has once again caused a heavy impact on the hospitality industry. Hotels and resorts have received many requests for room cancellations or changes in stay dates. In addition, MICE activities and events of hotels have also been affected, when conferences have been forced to postpone or cancel at the request of local authorities. This is a real blow to hotels when April and May are the peak season for conference activities.”
Mr. Mauro Gasparotti – Director of Savills Hotels Asia Pacific
Resorts' business activities are affected, with more than 50% and in some places up to nearly 80% of current bookings being requested to be canceled, mainly from groups and corporate guests.
Some hotels even announced that guests need to present a negative Covid-19 certificate to use the service, which was unprecedented.
"Hopefully, with the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in preventing the Covid-19 epidemic, we can soon contain and limit the spread of the epidemic so that we can restart business and tourism activities for the upcoming peak season," said Mr. Mauro Gasparotti. "The recent long holiday is a testament to the fact that domestic tourists are the driving force to help the tourism industry recover."
