HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Many travel businesses are looking forward to theintroduction of Vietnam’s safe tourism map to “live in peace” with the COVID-19pandemic.

Both businesses and potential travelers have been confused duringeach COVID-19 outbreak, according to a report in DauTu (Investment) newspaper. 

When a case of infection appears, customers are often confused sinceinformation, even about one COVID-19 case in quarantine, oftenfloods media and social media. 

“When Hanoi was said to have several COVID-19 infected cases, many touristsimmediately cancelled their tours as they thought this was not a safedestination. This huge city, in fact, has many other safe places to go,” thechairman of Vietravel Holdings, Nguyen Quoc Ky, said.

A safe tourism map is very much needed to inform locals of safe places tovisit. This enhances tourists’ confidence when traveling to a destination whilepreventing false rumours about the disease.

Travel service operators will also be supported as they have bettercontrol and no longer have to worry about changing their plansat the last minute.

They will be able to save costs and maintain cash flow. 

A green economy can “live with the epidemic” when customers are assured ofquality services and travel businesses have better control of their operation.

Chairman of Lux Group Pham Ha said that some European countries have builttourism digital maps with information necessary for travelers to draft theirplans.

Vietnam’s safe tourism map is a digital map with COVID-19 related informationacross all provinces and cities. 

With a software application on a smartphone, travelers are able to checkwhether their destinations are safe enough to visit at the time being.

Ha added that the safe tourism map provides travel agencies with opportunitiesto “go bolder” with their travel products.

The map can be uploaded on a website, presented in a mobile application, orintegrated in the Safe Vietnam Tourism application created by the VietnamNational Administration of Tourism, launched on October 10, 2020.

“The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control shouldupdate information about the pandemic on the map or authorise a special unitsuch as the Ministry of Health," Ky said.

This map is similar to the warning map of forest fires of the forestranger. It can incorporate information of visitor density in certain areas toavoid further crowds.

Many travel firms agree that the map is crucial when the market reopens./.