Quang Ninh resumes tourism in line with safe, flexible adaptation with COVID-19

Quang Ninh province has been selected among five destinations in Vietnam, including Phu Quoc (Kien Giang), Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa), Quang Nam and Da Nang, to join a pilot programme of re-opening to foreign tourists after a long pandemic hiatus. The northern province is set to welcome the first group of international visitors in January 2022.

Ready to welcome foreign visitors back

According to Deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu, as the fifth locality to implement the pilot programme to welcome foreign tourists, Quang Ninh has opportunities to draw lessons from the other four predecessor provinces in order to make prompt adjustments to re-open its door to international travellers.

He stressed that the province should make thorough preparations in both medical and technical capacities to serve foreign visitors.

He asked travel businesses and service providers to work out the most feasible and optimal solutions to ensure the safety of visitors and be ready to handle the worst possible scenario.

In fact, Quang Ninh province has made careful preparations in re-opening tourism markets. In September, the local authorities hosted a teleconference to discuss post-pandemic cooperation with Thailand’s Phuket province and learn experiences from the Thai locality’s “Phuket Sandbox” programme which aims to prevent COVID-19 transmission between tourists and local residents.

In addition to following the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s guideline on safely welcoming visitors, Quang Ninh has issued a temporary set of safety standards for tourists, comprising 24 compulsory and 11 recommended criteria.

Member companies of the Quang Ninh Tourism Association have also set their own safety guidelines which specifically require guests to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with two doses and test negative against SASR-CoV-2.

Director of Vietfood Travel Hanoi Pham Duy Nghia said that his company plans to arrange a charter flight to fly international tourists directly to Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh. From there, the tourists can opt for package tours lasting from five days and four nights to seven days and six nights to Ha Long city, at high quality and reasonable prices.

Diversifying tourist products

In order to provide visitors with more impressive experiences, travel service providers have joined hands to develop fresh and unique tourism products targeting high-income travellers.

The Complex of Yen Tu Monuments and Landscapes in Uong Bi city, has resumed operation in the new normal state. It is one of the first destinations in the province to be granted a high safety label in the COVID-19 prevention and control, creating a foundation for the site to welcome back international travellers.

Quang Ninh is one of the few localities that offer many attractive tourist products, both natural and man-made. The popular man-made places to visit in the province, include Van Don international airport, which has won the World Travel Awards (WTA) for several years in a row; international standard golf courses with two of them in Ha Long city having been listed in Asia's Best Golf Destinations; together with 5-star resort complexes.

This will be a distinct advantage for Quang Ninh to lure the return of international visitors, especially those from demanding markets for golf tourism such as the US, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

Regarding natural landscape, the province is home to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, which has drawn much interest and popularity among foreign vacationers. The bay was recently named among 55 of the world's most beautiful Destinations by US travel magazine Travel+Leisure.

In its latest move to stimulate tourism, the provincial People’s Council, on December 9, decided to cut tickets prices to Ha Long Bay, the Complex of Yen Tu Monuments and Landscapes, and Quang Ninh Museum in the northern province of Quang Ninh by 50 percent in the first half of 2022.

Safety first

In its scheme on re-opening to foreign tourists under a pilot programme, Quang Ninh plans to give priority to promising markets, such as China, Japan, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The provincial authorities forecast that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to develop in a complicated manner throughout 2022, affecting the local socio-economic situation in general and the tourism sector in particular.

Given the situation, the province has placed priority to ensuring safety of travellers, local residents and tourism staff first, which has contributed to realising its dual goal of maintaining economic development while preventing and controlling the pandemic.

It is expected that in the first six months of next year, Ha Long Bay will welcome 1.2 – 1.5 million travellers, while Quang Ninh Museum and the Yen Tu relic and scenic complex are expected to greet 100,000 and 250,000 visitors, respectively.

According to statistics, the number of tourists to Quang Ninh in 2021 reached 4 million, and the province’s tourism revenue was recorded at 7 trillion VND.