Hanoi (VNA) - All stakeholders in the tourism sector are adopting drastic revival measuresin the wake of COVID-19.

Accordingto the General Statistics Office, Vietnam welcomed about 3.7 million foreign visitorsin the first four months of 2020, primarily in January and February when internationaltravel was still “normal”. The figure represents a decline of 37.8 percentagainst the same period last year.

The pandemichas seen the industry suffer huge losses. Vietnam earned 775 trillion VND (34 billionUSD) in revenue from tourism last year, but this year losses of 24-29 billion USDare anticipated because of the disease, said Truong Nam Thangfrom the Swiss Sustainable Tourism Programme.

The declinein international arrivals is expected to continue in the months to come as Vietnammaintains an entry ban on foreigner visitors while many countries around the worldcontinue to impose lockdowns and border closures. Many people, meanwhile, now havea fear of travelling.

“COVID-19has given the tourism sector tremendous headaches, more than anything it has experiencedbefore,” Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu The Binh said. “Ourresponse must therefore also be different.”

After socialdistancing was lifted in late April, many popular destinations around the countryhave reopened their doors to domestic visitors. Travel agents such as Fiditour,Vietravel, and HanoiRedtours as well as luxury hotels like JW Marriott Phu QuocEmerald Bay are offering big deals to heat up the market.

Local administrationshave also joined businesses’ efforts to recover the tourism sector.

The People’sCommittee of Sa Pa township in northern Lao Cai province has cooperated with theSa Pa Tourism Association and the Fansipan Cable Car Service to kick off a tourismstimulus programme, the first of its kind, to help recover the local industry.

Hotels, homestays,tour operators, and tourism destinations in Sa Pa will slash rates by 30 to 60 percent.The Sun World Fansipan Legend resort is offering a discount of up to 60 percenton Fansipan cable car tickets to travellers from six north-western provinces - LaoCai, Lai Chau, Son La, Dien Bien, Yen Bai, and Hoa Binh.

Other citiesand provinces such as Binh Duong, Quang Ninh, Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Son La,and Da Nang have been developing similar packages.

The Ministryof Culture, Sports and Tourism also plans to launch a nationwide programme encouragingVietnamese to travel around the country.

Running fromJune 1 to December 31, the “Vietnamese people travel in Vietnam” programme aimsto promote domestic destinations and tourism products, engaging all stakeholdersin the sector, from local administrations, tourism associations, and tour operatorsto hospitality businesses and airlines.

Many localitiesare thirsty for tourists at the moment, Binh told a virtual national conferenceseeking ways to revive the sector last week. “It is quite competitive, asif one locality does not perform well then visitors will turn to others,” hesaid.

He also stressedthe necessity for all stakeholders to take part in the effort./.