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According to the General Statistics Office, the number of international visitors to Vietnam in June reached only 8,800, the lowest level in many years, a decrease of 61.3% compared to the previous month and a decrease of 99.3% compared to the same period last year.
The majority of international visitors to Vietnam are foreign experts and technical workers employed in projects in Vietnam. Currently, Vietnam has no international tourists as it has not yet opened its doors to the international tourism market.
In the first six months of the year, Vietnam received 3.7 million international visitors, a decrease of 55.8% compared to the same period in 2019. Of these, visitors from Asia accounted for 2.72 million, representing 72.9% of the total. Major markets providing significant visitors to Vietnam included China (down 63%), South Korea (down 60.4%), and Japan (down 55.8%). However, visitors from Cambodia increased by 105.9%.
When Vietnam can reopen to the international tourist market remains the biggest question for tourism and travel businesses.
At the recent Southeast Vietnam Tourism Conference held in Tay Ninh, the Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan, proposed that the Government should have a roadmap for gradually reopening to international tourism in order to help the industry recover.
Currently, the "Vietnamese people travel in Vietnam" tourism promotion program is receiving a positive response from people across the country.
Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan stated that the Covid-19 pandemic will continue worldwide and its progression varies from country to country. Therefore, Vietnam cannot wait for the whole world to be free of the pandemic before reopening.
"If we clearly define the criteria for which countries are safe and how long that safety period should last, we can consider gradually reopening tourism in a controlled manner. We can develop domestic tourism while selectively reopening international tourism, especially to countries close to Vietnam. Only then can we achieve economic development goals while effectively combating the pandemic," Mr. Nhan shared.
