Over the past year, businesses operating in the Da Nang tourism industry have fallen into a state of exhaustion due to the rage of COVID-19. Many of the laid-off or furloughed tourism employees across the city are still finding other livelihoods to make ends meet in life during the challenging times, which may lead to a potential shortage of human resources when the tourism industry bounces back.

The Da Nang tourism industry needs to develop suitable new products to attract more potential visitors in the coming time. Tourists are seen playing beach sports at My Khe Beach, Son Tra District. (Photo taken in March 2021 by KIM LIEN.

During her recent interview with DA NANG Newspaper, Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Truong Thi Hong Hanh presented briefing on how much damage the city's tourism industry suffered in the COVID-19 crisis.

In 2020, the total number of guests served by serviced accommodation establishments reached about 2.7 million, down 63.2% from the same period in 2019. In the first half of 2021, the figure went down by 36.8% from the year-ago period to only more than 1 million.

According to preliminary statistics, businesses have poured a total of about US$ 3.2 billion worth of investment into the development of tourist attractions, accommodation facilities, and transportation services. However, the majority of these tourism infrastructure facilities have halted their operations.

Over the past year, COVID-19 has resulted in a VND27,300 billion loss to citywide tourism firms as the number of people travelling plunged. As documented, 1,591 out of the total 1,926 travel businesses, accommodation establishments, tourist attractions, tourist ships, transport services have temporarily suspended. About 38,717 out of the total 50,963 tourism employees have turned unemployed since COVID-19 started striking the city early last year.

Da Nang will double down on its efforts in attracting domestic tourists the more the better during the rest of this year. Currently, the tapping of domestic tourist markets such as Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta and northern localities are considered as the key to the development of the Da Nang tourism.

The emergence of new strains of COVID-19 has created a great challenge in restoring tourism activities. Still worse, Da Nang will enter the rainy and stormy season in the coming time which may make tourists become reluctant to take trips.

Under the municipal administration-approved plans to restore tourism activities in the city in the coming time, importance will be attached to taking a number of key solutions to develop attractive new tourism products such as community-based and inland waterway tourism products, especially to organise yacht racing on the iconic Han River.

Also, implementing a phased digital transformation plan in state management and tourism business activities in the 2021 - 2025 period will also given a priority.

Heed will be paid to diversifying forms of tourism communications, boosting tourism cooperation with partners at home and abroad, piloting a number of tourist attractions using virtual reality technology and organise webinars to attract more potential travellers.

In an attempt to relieve financial burdens shoulder by tourism businesses and employees during COVID-19 crisis-triggered tough times, the national and municipal governments have already released many specific support policies.

Included them were the reduction of electricity prices for serviced accommodation establishments, the extension of the deadline for the payment of taxes and land rental fees to the end of this year, and a 50% reduction in fees for the assessment and granting of permit to international and domestic travel services, and the issuance of tour guides’ cards.

Also, businesses operating in investment priority aspects have accessed loans offered by the Da Nang Investment and Development Fund at a minimum lending interest rate of 6.5% per annum.

The local authorities have given the green light to the provision of a preferential loan package worth VND 65 billion in total to tourism workers who are financially struggling. This is good news for the needy to get through financial difficulties because of their unemployment over the past 2 years.

In detail, a total of over 1,000 tourism employees who are stuck in financial troubles sparked by the virus resurgence will receive an unsecured loan of up to VND 100 million each, with an interest rate of 7.93% per annum for a maximum term of 10 years.

Online travel markets will be launched to attract more potential tourists in the coming time.

With the drastic direction of the city's leaders, the tourism industry will exert every effort to overcome the existing difficulties to soon restore business activities, thereby making an important contribution to the city’s overall developmen.

Reporting by THU HA – Translating by A.T