The HCM CityDepartment of Tourism kicksoff its annual tourism stimulus programme that will run throughout the year as part of itsattempt to revive the hard-hittourism industry.

Nearly 260 tour packages are being offered with 280,000 discounted vouchers of 10-70 per cent.

Tour packages featuring popular tourist attractions in HCM City have been designed with new services to attract locals.

A one-day tour to Thạnh An Island in the city’s Can Gio District, for example, is only VNĐ99,000 (US$4) per person and a one-day HCM City tour VNĐ135,000 ($6) per person.

Twenty tourist and entertainment sites offer discounts of 20-50 per cent on entrance tickets.

A total of 40 accommodation facilities in the city have reduced room rate by 22-68 per cent besides free airport pickup and drop off services, and spa and laundry services.

Airlines, railway and road transport providers in the programme are also offering a variety of promotions and discounts.

The programme features attractive discounts on tour packages from HCM City to other cities and provinces.

Coordinated efforts of tourism authorities in HCM City and neighbouring provinces will help to create inter-regional tourism products and promotion activities, said Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the department.

The HCM City Department of Tourism kicks off its annual tourism stimulus programme that will run throughout the year as part of its attempt to revive the hard-hit tourism industry.

This year, the programme will promote travel linkages between the city and localities. A large number of tourists are expected to travel to other localities from HCM City, Vũ said.  

Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy and model and travel blogger Tran Quang Dai are ambassadors for this year’s programme which has its website at www.kichcaudulichtphcm.vn 

Last month, the number of foreign tourist arrivals to HCM City was zero, according to a report of the city’s Department of Tourism.

In the first five months of the year, the city welcomed more than 1.3 million international tourist arrivals, down 63 per cent year-on-year.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said domestic travel is the priority at this time as all international flights are still closed.

The number of domestic tourists is expected to reach no more than 60-65 million this year or two-thirds of this year’s target, Khanh said at a meeting held on Monday in HCM City.

If foreign tourists are allowed to enter the country next month, the number of foreign tourist arrivals might reach 6-8 million for the year.

The number might be an estimated 4-4.5 million if the tourism sector reopens to foreign tourists in the fourth quarter, he said. 

The Tourism Administration has suggested extending upcoming national holiday breaks to boost domestic travel, he said.

The Independence Day holiday on September 2, for example, could be extended to five days instead of only one day, he added.

Quang Binh offers large discounts to boost tourism

Authorities in the central province of Quảng Bình have approved a plan to cut entrance fees to a series of natural beauty spots in half from now till the end of the year.

The large discount, which will be applied to tours of some famous caves in the area, aims to attract more visitors and stimulate tourism development in the province after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the provincial People's Council at a working session this week.

The meeting was held to discuss urgent issues including those related to tourism challenges for the rest of 2020 and find solutions to help tourism enterprises overcome obstacles amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, tours that take visitors to Phong Nha Cave will have entrance fees reduced from VNĐ150,000 (US$6.5) to VNĐ75,000 ($3.2) per person.

The rate for entrance fees to Tiên Sơn and Nước Moọc caves will be down from VNĐ80,000 to VNĐ40,000 each.

Fees for visiting Thiên Đường and Mẹ Bồng Con caves are discounted from VNĐ250,000 to VNĐ125,000, respectively.

Meanwhile, the cost for other tours will also be reduced by 50 per cent including the route through Rào Thương - Én - Nước Lạnh caves which is now at VNĐ240,000 and Tú Làn cave system, which is VNĐ140,000 for four days and three nights visiting a total of seven tourist spots.

In particular, those who want to conquer Sơn Đoòng – the largest cave in the world – will now have only to pay VNĐ4.4 million for the entrance fee per person.

Moreover, tourists will benefit from discounts on transportation costs, accommodation and food at restaurants during the tours, according to the provincial tourism authority.

Quảng Bình Province's Department of Tourism said that, since the beginning of the year, due to the effects of the pandemic, the number of tourists to the locality dropped sharply but it has begun to recover since the social distancing measures were eased and the province opened its doors to welcome visitors back.

The department said the number of visitors at weekends has started to increase.

It revealed an approximate number of 35,000 people visiting the province during the 45th anniversary of the liberation of the South and National Reunification Day on April 30 and May Day. The visitors mainly came from Hà Nội and neighbouring provinces.

The provincial tourism authority has directed tourism businesses in the province to change the structure of the tourist service market from serving foreigners to focusing on domestic customers and diversify tourism products with more reasonable prices to meet demands of tourists with new conditions of operation due to the pandemic.— VNS