Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - People nationwide will enjoy a one-day holiday onSeptember 2 to celebrate the country’s National Day and safe holidays arethe order of the day amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thisyear, as there is only one day off, most holidaymakers have chosen short-termtours to nearby destinations without COVID-19 or to spots that havebeen announced safe from the pandemic.

Majortravel agencies in Hanoi and HCM City have reported that despitethe pandemic, they had seen an increase of bookings for tours to safedestinations.

Thehealth sector and authorities of all levels are working togetherstamp out the COVID-19 pandemic in many places and this has created a number of"safe zones" for tourists to visit.

Communicationand marketing director of the TST Tourist Company Nguyen Minh Man saida new trend of travelling has been created, focusingon destinations announced as safe from the pandemicon tours during the day in cars.

Thehealth sector has laid out strict health regulations to ensure hygienicconditions for tourists.

Vehiclesserving tourists must regularly spray disinfection chemicals and eachvehicle of between 30 and 45 seats is only allowed tocarry less than 20 and 30 passengers, respectively.

Touroperators have also been told to not sells tours to those who have passedthrough or come from high-risk areas and those with COVID-19 symptoms signssuch as fever or cough.

Touristagencies will prioritise clients with negative coronavirus testcertificates.

DoanThi Thanh Tra, a marketing and communication director of Saigontourist, saidfewer people had booked tours for this year's National Dayholiday compared to previous years due to the pandemic. 

However,according to Tra, the holiday had created a chance for the tourismsector to restructure, reconnect business activities and revive theworking spirit of their employees after a long stagnation, while alsoremind customers about their brand.

“Onthe other hand, the number of tourists booking tours at Saigontouriston September 2 shows the tourism market also has signs of prosperity. More andmore units and families have started contacting the company foradvice and even signed tour contracts to depart in Octoberto safe destinations," said Tra.

"Amajority of tourists have booked tours prioritising HCM Cityneighbouring provinces which have a high safety index for COVID-19 such asDa Lat, Phu Quoc, Con Dao, Long An, Tien Giang and Can Tho," Traadded.

A reportfrom Vietravel revealed that for September 2 this year, thecompany had largely stopped accepting large groups oftourists to focus on family groups with basic services suchas support for booking, buying tickets and car rental to destinationssuch as Phu Quoc and Vung Tau.

Inaddition, the report said their company is offering staycationpackages to top hotels.

InHanoi, most tourists chose to travel to places about 45-50km from thecity such as Ba Vi in the outskirts of Hanoi, Tam Dao in the northernprovince of Vinh Phuc and Ha Long Bay in the coastal province of QuangNinh.

HoaiHuong, a tourist from Hanoi, said as the holiday was only one day her familychose a tour to Tam Dao.

"Thething is that the COVID-19 pandemic is still complicated so we choose notto travel by trains or planes. We want to be in safe places near our homecity," according to Huong. 

Promotions

Inan effort to drum up business, travelagencies have designed a variety of short-term tours, with some companieseven offering affordable prices for high standard services.

Forexample, Vietravel has offered stays at 4-5 star hotels in the city between 1.3 millionVND (56 USD) and 3.4 million VND (147 USD) per night fortwo people, a discount of 50-70 percent.

Thistype of product, according a company representative, was mainly forcustomers in the city or from neighbouring areas to enjoyluxurious services at affordable prices.

TSTTourist Company has launchedshort-term tour products, prioritising destinations near HCM City and in thecity.

Currently,the tours offered by the company for 1-2 days cost from 700,000 VND toabout 1.8 million VND per person. Over the past few days, the number ofvisitors who register for these tours has also increased significantly, thefirm said.

NguyenThi Anh Hoa, Deputy Director of HCM City’s Department of Tourism, saidorganising tours on September 2 is the first step for tourism agencies torestart the tourism market, boost their operations, improve revenueand create jobs, but they shouldn't have high expectations of arevenue boom because the pandemic has forced more than 90 percent oftravel companies in the city to close.

"Businesseswhich have opened again should comply with regulations onspacing to ensure safety measures for tourists and staff," shesaid./.