Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam reopened to international tourists on March 15, andsince then the s♌ector has witnessed  a large number of visitors arriving inlocalities꧑ nationwide thanks to a wide range of promotions.

Justa few days after the reopening, the central province of Quang Nam kicked offthe Visit Vietnam Year 2022, themed “Quang Nam - Green tourism destination”. Throughoutthe year, nearly 300 cultural and tourism events will take place, including 64hosted by Quang Nam alone. The key activities will be held from May toSeptember. InQuang Nam, Hoi An will be hosting many of these activities. The city and travelcompanies believe there is a good chance to introduce new tourism products tohelp tourism recover after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. OnApril 8, Ho Chi Minh City - a major tourist magnet in Vietnam - welcomed 130visitors from the US, the first large group of foreign tourists to the southernmetropolis in two years. Thisindicates interest among international tourists has begun to rebound, and that Vietnamin general and HCM City in particular are drawing attention from foreigntravellers, the municipal Tourism Department said, adding the local tourismsector expects a rapid recovery after the reopening. Meanwhile,the south central province of Khanh Hoa is stepping up communications to advertiseitself and Nha Trang city as a safe, civilised and hospitable destination. Itis also working to welcome visitors from traditional markets, including Russia,back, director of the provincial Tourism Department, Nguyen Thi Le Thanh,noted. Otherprovinces in the northwestern and Central Highlands regions are focusing ondeveloping tourism products that help travellers explore unique local cultures. Incentral Thua Thien-Hue province, the former capital city of Hue is preparingfor the Hue Festival 2022, slated for June 25 to 30. QuangNinh province, a major tourism centre in the north of Vietnam, has planned aseries of events to stimulate travel, including hosting seven sporting eventsduring the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) this May. The highlightof these activities will be the Ha Long - Quang Ninh Tourism Week, including theHa Long Carnival, in late April and early May. Vietnam’stourism has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, thenumber of international arrivals plunged by over 80 percent from the previousyear to 3.7 million, while domestic tourism halved. The sector lost about 23billion USD in revenue. NguyenTrung Khanh, General Director of the Vietnam National Administration ofTourism, said the sector will work effectively on the tourism recovery anddevelopment programme in order to achieve the targets set in the country’ssocio-economic recovery and development programme. Inparticular, it will renew products, services, infrastructure, personnel andpromotions, he went on, adding that the administration will also ask agenciesto issue support policies for tourism businesses and workers hit by thepandemic./.