Conference examines ways to boost tourism recovery and development
VOV.VN - A conference was held in the central province of Nghe An on December 25 to discuss ways to promote the tourism sector’s recovery and development moving forward.
Those in attendance at the event included Tran Thanh Man, vice chairman of the National Assembly (NA), officials of central agencies and localities. They were joined by representatives of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), and hundreds of experts, enterprises, and organisations operating in the tourism sector.
Nguyen Dac Vinh, chairman of the NA’s Committee for Cultural and Education Affairs, said that impacted by COVID-19, the country’s tourism sector has been facing unprecedented difficulties over the last two years.
With the pandemic being gradually brought under control, the tourism industry and the economy as a whole are taking steps aimed at surmounting hardships, although the path to tourism recovery and the safe and flexible adaptation to the outbreak remains full of challenges.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet noted that the country welcomed just 3.7 million foreign tourist arrivals last year, marking an annual decline of 80%. In addition, the number of domestic visitors stood at 56 million, a drop of 34% on-year, whilst tourism revenue also decreased by 59% to VND312.2 trillion, equal to US$13.6 billion.
This year, the fourth wave of the pandemic in the nation has led to a stagnation in socio-economic activities for many localities over several months. The country has remained closed to international tourists, with domestic tourism continuing to decline by almost 30% from the same period in 2020.
Deputy Minister Viet therefore emphasised that to help the tourism industry overcome this challenging period and resume development, the NA and Government should promote tourism recovery and development programmes. Indeed, this is part of the socio-economic recovery and development scheme for the 2022 to 2023 period, whilst continuing assisting businesses and workers in the sector, issuing fresh mechanisms and policies to facilitate tourism, and boost the attraction of investment to nighttime, ecological, leisure, and community-based tourism. This should be done alongside promoting digital transformation in tourism and devising plans relating to the developing of tourism personnel in the new normal.