Restructuring tourism for sustainable development after Covid-19 pandemic

At the event

Speaking at the event, Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh shared that since the beginning of this year, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the economic life of the world and Vietnam. Tourism has been the industry most severely affected.

As of February 2020, Vietnam temporary stopped welcoming international tourists. The domestic market has also been affected by social distancing as well as the second outbreak. It is forecast that in 2020, international visitors to Vietnam will have decreased by 80% and the domestic market will have decreased by 50% compared to 2019. Although the whole industry and most localities have organised many stimulus programmes to promote tourism, the losses for Vietnam's tourism industry in 2020 are forecast to be in the range of US$23 billion.

According to the Director General, after the effects of the Covid -19 pandemic, now is the time when stakeholders must come together to find solutions for the further development of the tourism industry in the near future, especially in the restructuring of international and domestic tourist markets. Vietnam’s tourism must soon be ready to welcome new opportunities after the Covid-19 pandemic with their accompanying challenges, and must be proactive with the best options.

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic across the world, international tourism has not reopened, but domestic tourism is gradually recovering, playing a role in maintaining the stability of the whole industry.

The growth of tourist markets (domestic and international) in recent years has significantly contributed to the development of tourism in Vietnam. However, this growth has also caused the tourism industry to face some limitations and challenges.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism proposes to restructure the tourist market towards the goal of ensuring sustainable growth of international tourists to Vietnam; efficiently exploiting tourism resources in line with market trends and demands. The tourism industry should diversify its markets, reduce dependence on certain markets, limit risk against regional and world events; stabilise growth of domestic tourists, and balance its regional distribution.