Spring festival organizers feel the pinch amid COVID-19 fears
VOV.VN - The typically bustling atmosphere seen at pagodas, temples, and relic sites nationwide during the start of a new lunar year has been largely subdued this year due to the impact of the latest coronavirus outbreak, resulting in sharp declines in revenue for the local tourism industry.
The opening day of Hanoi’s Huong Pagoda Festival, one of the biggest for Buddhist pilgrims in Vietnam in spring, normally welcomes approximately 80,000 worshippers. However, the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus late last month has forced the local administration to cancel this year’s festival.
My Duc district, that houses the Huong Pagoda relic complex, has set up check-points around the site, requesting that all arrivals return to their locality in an attempt to curb the potential spread of the virus.
Similarly, Vieng market in Nam Dinh province typically welcomes between 250,000 and 300,000 arrivals during its festival on the seventh and eighth days of the first lunar month.
Because of its closure due to COVID-19, only local people in Nam Dinh were able to visit the market to exchange goods, thereby causing a sharp decline in the number of arrivals.
Elsewhere, the Tam Chuc Buddhist Cultural Complex in Ha Nam province remains open in tight anti-coronavirus measures. All visitors are required to complete medical declarations, though the number was reported to have fallen considerably compared to the same period from last year.
Meanwhile, the Tran Temple Festival in Nam Dinh province, which falls on the 14th day of the first lunar month, was limited to only 35 participants.
Also in Hanoi, Phuc Khanh Pagoda has decided to broadcast its prayer ritual through social media, including its Facebook page and YouTube channel to mark the start of the new lunar year.
These efforts will stop public gatherings in front of the pagoda occurring, a huge contrast compared to previous years.
Although there is no exact figure for the huge loss in revenue faced by the tourism industry in each locality, it is believed that changes in the organisation of spring festivals in relic sites will prove helpful in preventing the spread of COVID-19 whilst simultaneously maintaining cultural traditions.
