Foreign tourists in HCMC. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has written to its international partners and foreign tourists announcing that Vietnam is still safe

This is the second time the head of the administration has sent a letter to its international partners and foreign visitors since a drop in the number of tourist arrivals was recorded in the country because of the spread of the coronavirus, which was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

In the letter, written in Chinese and English, released on February 12, Nguyen Trung Khanh, head of the administration, provided an update on the country’s efforts to control the virus.

He noted that since the virus spread to Vietnam, the Government has quarantined Vietnamese citizens that recently traveled to China and those in close contact with coronavirus-infected patients.

Khanh stated that tourist destinations, heritage sites and restaurants are open to serve tourists as normal, adding that the administration is collaborating with localities and travel firms to apply numerous measures to minimize the potential spread of the virus and ensure the safety of visitors.

Recently, many countries have warned their citizens against travelling to certain nations and territories in Asia due to fears of coronavirus infection.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has committed to cooperating with the relevant agencies to ensure the safety of tourists and regularly update information on the development of the virus.

Some days ago, the administration had estimated that the coronavirus outbreak would cost Vietnam’s tourism sector up to US$7.7 billion in the next three months and that international tourist arrivals in the country would decline by 3.7-4.7 million, while local tourists are predicted to fall by 50%-70%, or 11-15 million. SGT

Minh Duy

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