Visitors to a shop in Hoi An Ancient Town, the central province of Quang Nam, before the destination is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The COVID-19 pandemicresulted in a gloomy picture being painted of Vietnam’s tourism industry in thefirst quarter of the year, as it triggered an 18.1 percent decline in foreign arrivalsand made it particularly difficult for the country to achieve this year’s targets.
Hanoi welcomed some 133,740 foreign visitors in March,an 80 percent nose-dive compared to the same period last year. The total stood at3.85 million for the first quarter, down 47.2 percent year-on-year.
The capital also posted a 38.8 percent decline intourism revenue during the quarter, to 15.69 trillion VND (665 million USD).
Ninh Binh province, another tourism magnet inVietnam’s north, welcomed 1.47 million visitors in the quarter and earned 761.33billion VND in revenue, equivalent to 42.1 percent and 53.1 percent,respectively, of figures posted in the first quarter of last year.
Overall, foreign arrivals to Vietnam in March plunged63.8 percent against February and 68.1 percent year-on-year. The first-quarter totalstood at around 3.7 million, down 18.1 percent year-on-year, according to the GeneralStatistics Office.
Sharp falls were posted in the number of visitorsfrom major markets like Asia (down 21.1 percent), the Americas (20.2 percent), andAustralia (14.4 percent).
Fewer tourists also meant less revenue in relatedservices. Accommodation and catering services earned just 126.2 trillion VND overthe last three months and travel services 7.8 trillion VND, down 9.6 percent and27.8 percent, respectively, year-on-year.
Vietnam has targeted 20.5 million foreign arrivalsin 2020. Hanoi hoped to attract 31.88 million visitors in total and Ninh Binh, hostof National Tourism Year 2020, anticipated 7.78 million.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Vietnam’s tourismsector is forecast to endure a host of ongoing difficulties, making the targetsof most localities and the country as a whole virtually unachievable.
The World Tourism Organisation has projected thatthe number of foreign tourist arrivals globally will fall by 1-3 percent this year,rather than grow 3-4 percent as forecast in January just before the outbreak.
Some, however, believe the industry will prove resilientwhen the pandemic is over.
Mauro Gasparotti, Director of Savills Hotels AsiaPacific, said the hospitality industry is likely to see the fastest and strongestgrowth among all sectors once recovery comes into view.
Vietnam’s reliance on local tourists, whoaccounted for 82.5 percent of travel in 2019, and the Chinese and the Republicof Korean markets could turn out to be an advantage, as these are expected to besome of the first who are able to travel again, he explained./.
VNA
