As Vietnam has achieved high COVID-19 vaccine coverage and many touristy localities have been labelled as “green zones” with low pandemic risks, visitors are ready to book their trips for Tet holiday with hope for a safe trip, which can fuel them with fresh and positive energy for the new year.
Visitors join a newly designed tour exploring Thu Duc City pose for a group photo (Photo: hochiminhcity.gov.vn)
In a move to restart tourism and welcome back visitors, travel agencies in southern localities are offering assorted tours to various destinations for the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.
The destinations are located in “green zones”, in which COVID-19 has basically been put under control, while providing vacationers with natural open spaces and distinctive cultural experiences.
Promoting safe and interesting destinations
According to travel agents in southern cities and provinces, in addition to developing tours to Northern, Central, and Central Highlands regions, holidaymakers are also interested in short day trips around Ho Chi Minh City as well as to the South-Eastern region and Mekong Delta.
In Ho Chi Minh City specifically, short-distance tours exploring Thu Duc City, the “steel land” of Cu Chi, along with other prominent historical sites and trips to traditional craft villages, have gained popularity among visitors.
A representative of the Saigon Travel Service Company (Saigontourist) revealed that the company is offering customers with a wide range of options to explore destinations across the country with an aim to help them admire the beauty of the country's scenery and discovering the diverse cultural colours of each region.
Prominent among the tour itineraries include Fansipan Peak in Lao Cai Province, Eo Gio Cliff in Quy Nhon City (Binh Dinh Province), Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, the Mekong Delta, and Phu Quoc Island in Kien Giang Province.
Phan Thi Thang, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Municipal People’s Committee said that following the roadmap to revive and re-boost the tourism sector, the local authorities and enterprises in the city have coordinated to design tours to various local destinations in the city on the occasion of the New Year 2022 and Tet holiday.
The effort aim to bring interesting, fresh and exciting travel experiences to holidaymakers and promote Ho Chi Minh City as a city with safe destinations and lively itineraries, she said.
Sa Dec Spring Flower Festival will take place from January 27 to February 7 in the flower village of Sa Dec in Dong Thap Province (Photo: laodong.vn)
Meanwhile in Dong Thap Province, a number of tours to flower villages and ecological tourism sites have been developed, along with a range of interesting tourism products, to serve visitors for Tet holiday.
Tran Thanh Hung, head of the tourism club in the flower village of Sa Dec, said that the club’s members have been active in decorating the village’s appearance and adding more local specialties into menus of local homestays, restaurants, and eateries. They have also shaken hands with tour operators to advertise the village to wider visitors.
The village will host the Sa Dec Spring Flower Festival from January 27 to February 7, which promises to help tourists experience colourful spring scenery full of charming flowers.
Ensuring safe travel for visitors
To make customers feel safe when travelling in the new normal situation, many tour operators and travel agents have made public of measures they have taken to prevent and control COVID-19.
For instance, Vietravel tourism company has developed “three shields” criteria for their operation. Accordingly, all of the staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provided with protective equipment. The tour guides are requested to take COVID-19 tests and vehicles are disinfected before and after serving visitors.
The company has also set higher food hygiene standards and incorporated COVID-19-related benefits into travel insurance offered to clients.
Assoc. Prof. Vo Thi Ngoc Thuy, Director of Hoa Sen University, stressed that tourists now pay a special attention to safety among their travel requirements.
There have been major changes in tourist behaviour, she said, explaining that price is no longer the top concern among holidaymakers today; they are now more concerned about the COVID-19 preventive measures adopted by the tour operators, the attractiveness of the tourism products, and the quality of customer service.
Therefore, to welcome back more visitors and rejuvenate tourism, travel firms need to select suitable destinations and design their tours with more interesting experiences while strictly observing the COVID-19 protective rules, she suggested.