TOURISM SERVICES IN 2020 REPORT2020 witnessed two outbreaks of Covid19, the first of which occurred from January to April and was spread mainly by international tourists, resulting in travel bans and restrictions in all tourist destinations. From July to September, the second outbreak occurred in communities and some localities nationwide. Approximately six months passed by in a quandary for the tourism service industry due to the two outbreaks. (Picture 1: Social quarantine due to 2 Covid outbreaks. Photo: Google Insights)Activities in the hotel, motel, restaurant, and transportation sectors were forcefully out of service due to the nationwide lockdown from January to April (Dat, 2021) 1. The airline industry was shut down, which resulted in a drop in international tourists. According to the General Statistics Office, international visitors to Vietnam in March 2020 plummeted to nearly 450,000 arrivals, 68.1% down over the same period in 2019, and 63.8% down against February. Total arrivals of the whole first quarter of 2020 reached 3.7 million arrivals, more than 18% down over the same period. Domestic arrivals fell due to the social quarantine.
Trang 1Name: Nguyen Mai Linh
Class: QH2018E14
TOURISM SERVICES IN 2020 REPORT
2020 witnessed two outbreaks of Covid-19, the first of which occurred from January to April and was spread mainly by international tourists, resulting in travel bans and restrictions in all tourist destinations From July to September, the second outbreak occurred in communities and some localities nationwide Approximately six months passed by in a quandary for the tourism service industry due to the two outbreaks
(Picture 1: Social quarantine due to 2 Covid outbreaks Photo: Google Insights)
Activities in the hotel, motel, restaurant, and transportation sectors were forcefully out of service due to the nationwide lockdown from January to April (Dat, 2021) [1] The airline industry was shut down, which resulted in a drop in international tourists According to the General Statistics Office, international visitors to Vietnam
in March 2020 plummeted to nearly 450,000 arrivals, 68.1% down over the same period in 2019, and 63.8% down against February Total arrivals of the whole first
Trang 2quarter of 2020 reached 3.7 million arrivals, more than 18% down over the same period Domestic arrivals fell due to the social quarantine
(Picture 2: National tourist arrivals plummeted in the first three months of 2020 due
to the influence of Covid-19 Source: Google Insights)
According to the General Department of Tourism's survey [1], the Covid-19 epidemic forced 95 percent of international travel service businesses across the country to close their doors in the first six months of 2020 About 137 foreign travel companies applied to have their licenses revoked because of the gloomy tourism industry Numerous tourism staff faced unemployment Out of 394 surveyed enterprises, 18% laid off all workers, and 48% left their jobs at a rate ranging from 50% to 80% Simultaneously, 75% of companies provided various types of financial assistance to employees who had lost their employment in the first 4 months [3]
Trang 3(Picture 3: A report of total arrivals in Vietnam in the first 6 months of 2020,
compared to that of 2019 Photo: Google Insights)
From July to September, some localities, despite having no cases or being unrelated, were adversely impacted, right after the second outbreak Tourism companies were already reeling from the first outbreak when they were struck with the second, making it even more complicated for them Owing to a drastic rise in the number of visitors canceling trips, tourism stimulus packages were almost frozen, just
as the industry was about to pass the peak domestic tourist season (Dong, 2020) [2]
Trang 4(Picture 4: A report of total arrivals in Vietnam in the first 9 months of 2020, after 2
Covid outbreaks Photo: Google Insights)
In this situation, the government directed that domestic tourism be promoted
and for foreign tourism if possible (Dat, 2021) [1] The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and
Tourism launched the "Vietnamese Travels in Vietnam" initiative to improve
domestic tourism service Tourism businesses rapidly created appealing products with
"unprecedented this low" costs, assuring high quality to draw domestic visitors Since February 2020, the Vietnam Tourism Association has launched a stimulus program
and adopted safe tourism regulations, receiving widespread support from tourism
organizations and enterprises
(Picture 5: Domestic tourists' needs to find information about destinations between December 6, 2020 and January 31, 2021 (Source: Google Destination Insights)) [4]
The Vietnam Tourism Association then launched a two-phase program with the theme "Vietnam Tourism - Bright Destination" to boost domestic tourism (from May
15 to July 15 and from July 15 to the end of 2020) This program is launched based on
the principles of stimulating demand to ensure visitor safety, lowering prices without
lowering service quality, or maintaining prices while increasing services (Dat, 2021)
[1]
Furthermore, mobile apps were created to access numerous domestic customers
(Linh, 2021) [5] To avoid spreading diseases in crowded areas, some local authorities
have installed automated presentation machines at tourist sites (Phuong, 2020) [6] The stimulus products emphasize innovation, uniqueness, low cost, and diversified promotions
Trang 5(Picture 6: Vietnamese travel businesses quickly caught up with the digital
transformation trend Photo: Trang Linh)
Tourism companies have also taken advantage of the downtime to change
business strategies, innovate products, enhance service quality, and train human
up with the latest tourist trends
To improve this situation, firstly, I suggest that businesses change their operations for better service quality, study market needs for suitable quality tourism products, strengthen bonding to increase resistance and grow strong, and connect with other tourism providers to create tourism stimulus packages and bring tourism a rapid recovery after crises
Secondly, I am convinced that strong tourism growths should be focused on enhancing service while providing suitable offers, increase preferential discounts to attract domestic tourists, especially those from unaffected regions
Finally, an increase in the use of technology entails a reduction in the use of labor and an increase in unemployment As a result, I suggest that tourism employers
Trang 6collaborate with employers from other industries to transfer jobless workers in fields such as delivery, garment, and commodity production
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Trang 7[1]: Dat, H (2021, February 17) Nhìn lại tác động của dịch Covid-19 đối với du lịch
Việt Nam và xu hướng phát triển năm 2021 From:
http://consosukien.vn/nhin- lai-tac-dong-cua-dich-covid-19-doi-voi-du-lich-viet-nam-va-xu-huong-phat-trien-nam-2021.htm
[2]: Dong, Q (2020, December 9) Du lịch Việt Nam vượt khó, tìm thời cơ trong thách
thức From:
https://nhandan.com.vn/du-lich/du-lich-viet-nam-vuot-kho-tim-
thoi-co-trong-thach-thuc-627470/?fbclid=IwAR2IcnPvZ-FSXL3mu8zCk8qaY2yQPHlIZ-mcvDjsGCvSABhsfD6eb-7Sv3k
[3]: Khó khăn với lao động ngành du lịch trong “bão” Covid-19 (2020, April 26).
From: https://nhandan.com.vn/tin-tuc-xa-hoi/kho-khan-voi-lao-dong-nganh-du-lich-trong-bao-covid-19-456544/
[4]: Linh (2021, February 8) Thị trường du lịch nội địa biến động mạnh bởi dịch
Covid-19 From:
https://nhandan.com.vn/tin-tuc-du-lich/thi-truong-du-lich-noi-dia-bien-dong-manh-boi-dich-covid-19-634980/
[5]: Linh, T (2021, January 3) Du lịch Việt Nam 2020: phát huy nội lực trong “bão
Covid-19” From:
https://nhandan.com.vn/dien-dan-dulich/du-lich-viet-nam-2020-phat-huy-noi-luc-trong-bao-covid-19-630469/?
fbclid=IwAR0KK0t8IOIIrvmOenGz9r5bh3nMJca-sLxuxuw0P7OEGuUWL49HugsJmmw
[6]: Phuong, B (2020, February 24) Hà Nội: Thúc đẩy du lịch nhờ công nghệ From
https://vietnamtourism.gov.vn/index.php/items/31385