The Van Don international airport officially reopens commercial flights (Photo: VNA) Quang Ninh (VNA) – Tourism destinations and activities in the northeastern coastal province ofQuang Ninh were resumed from May 1 after more than one month of suspensionto prevent the spread of the COVID-19.
Provincial authorities allow tourism activities in attractionsof Ha Long Bay, the YenTu historic relic andlandscape site, QuangNinh Museum, the provincial library, Tra Co - Mong Cai national tourism site, beaches, hotels, accommodation establishments,restaurants, coffee shops and golf courses, as well as domestic travel business activities.
The Van Don internationalairport officially reopened commercial flights on May 4, starting with those to Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang.
Disease prevention measureswere still performed strictly at the airport, especially for flights returningfrom epidemic areas.
After the first three daysof resuming tourist activities and services, all tourist destinations, hotelsand restaurants in Quang Ninh have seriously maintained measures against COVID-19.
The local tourismsector is strengthening coordination with major businesses to organise tourism promotionprogrammes in the year, while supporting enterprises to implement tourismstimulus packages, and arranging tourism human resources training courses.
According to theprovincial Department of Tourism, Quang Ninh expects to welcome between1.54 – 4.9 million visitors in 2020.
The site welcomed 4.4 million holidaymakers throughout 2019, including 2.9 million foreigners, and raked in 1.23 trillion VND from tourism.
Quang Ninh has completed its tourism development master plan for 2020 with a vision to 2030, after consulting with the US-based Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 2014, which put forth breakthrough ideas to address difficulties that the province has being facing in the field.
The provincial tourism and service sector had suffered from adverse impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first four months of 2020, Quang Ninh welcomed just 1.54 million holidaymakers, a year-on-year decline of 77 percent, ♛while its revenues from tourism also dropped ✨by 77 percent to 2.76 trillion VND (119.5 million USD).
Quang Ninh is also one of the pioneers nationwide in implementing smart tourism solutions.
Smart tourism infrastructure has been improved throughout the province and is based on smart city development.
Simply put, smart tourism refers to the application of information and communications technology to ensure interaction between managers, businesses, and tourists.
Quang Ninh has favourable conditions to implement smart tourism, according to industry insiders, as it was ranked third in the Vietnam ICT Index in 2019.
Building integrated tourism data and a tourism portal has been defined as the first move and one of the top priorities in smart tourism for Quang Ninh.
Visitors are now able to access the local tourism information portal at halongtourism.com.vn and discoverhalong.com in Vietnamese, English, and Chinese, or through Quang Ninh tourism sector’s fanpage on Facebook, for the latest information.
These websites not only introduce popular destinations, entertain💝ment, festivals, and specialty dishes but also include guidance for visitors to book rooms, cars, and tickets online, as well as hotlines to accept feedback on services./.
