Dinh Ngoc Duc, director of the Market Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said the agency is preparing a plan for recovery after Covid-19, with programs that will advertise Vietnam as a safe destination.

Foreign travelers in Vietnam in February

The images of F1 Race, the event that has attracted the attention of international travelers, will help convey the message.

“International travelers have shown their high interest in the event. The US TV channel CNN said if the two sides cooperate to advertise Vietnam’s tourism, the images of F1 race will be used in the campaign,” Duc said.

Some travel firms said that many travelers have canceled tours to watch the F1 race in Hanoi, but others are still going in April.

The 2020 F1 race, to be organized for the first time in Vietnam this April, will be the highlight of the tourism promotion campaign amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“They repeatedly contact us and ask if F1 is canceled because of Covid-19,” a senior executive of a travel firm said.

Nguyen Dang Cuong from Vietnam Airlines also said passengers from Europe, Australia and Japan have shown interest in the race.

A representative of the national flag air carrier in Europe said that all the groups of travelers booking tickets to fly to Vietnam to watch the F1 race will depart as initially scheduled.

On February 21, VNAT and Vietnam Grand Prix Co Ltd signed a cooperation agreement in 2020-2025 on carrying out the advertisement and tourism promotion activities associated with F1 race.

Travel firms and airlines these days meet each other to discuss the organization of tourism promotion campaigns to show international travelers that Vietnam remains a safe destination. The travelers need to be informed that Vietnam is controlling the Covid-19 epidemic and many foreign travelers still will cole to Vietnam.

Tran Hung Viet, chair of the HCM City Tourism Association, said Vietnam needs to provide updated information regularly. The information about the control of the epidemic in Vietnam, plus the images of foreign travelers in Vietnam will help foreigners better understand the current conditions of Vietnam.

“Some markets have closed because of the epidemic, but other markets are still open. The spread of positive information about the epidemic will help better exploit the market at this moment and prepare for the recovery after the epidemic ends,” he said.

A representative of Fiditour said many travelers have canceled tours, but the firm still receives 10 groups of European travelers this February. The travelers stay for 7-10 days on average in Vietnam.

Formula 1 VinFast Vietnam Grand Prix will take place in Hanoi on April 3-5, 2020.

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