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.
Name: 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 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 (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 months [3] (Picture 3: A report of total arrivals in Vietnam in the first 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] (Picture 4: A report of total arrivals in Vietnam in the first months of 2020, after 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 (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 resources for better service throughout the system (Dong, 2020) [4] They want to keep 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 collaborate with employers from other industries to transfer jobless workers in fields such as delivery, garment, and commodity production Word count: 706 References [1]: Dat, H (2021, February 17) Nhìn lại tác động dịch Covid-19 du lịch Việt Nam xu hướng phát triển năm 2021 From: http://consosukien.vn/nhinlai-tac-dong-cua-dich-covid-19-doi-voi-du-lich-viet-nam-va-xu-huong-phattrien-nam-2021.htm [2]: Dong, Q (2020, December 9) Du lịch Việt Nam vượt khó, tìm thời thách thức From: https://nhandan.com.vn/du-lich/du-lich-viet-nam-vuot-kho-timthoi-co-trong-thach-thuc-627470/?fbclid=IwAR2IcnPvZFSXL3mu8zCk8qaY2yQPHlIZ-mcvDjsGCvSABhsfD6eb-7Sv3k [3]: Khó khăn với lao động ngành du lịch “bão” Covid-19 (2020, April 26) From: https://nhandan.com.vn/tin-tuc-xa-hoi/kho-khan-voi-lao-dong-nganh-dulich-trong-bao-covid-19-456544/ [4]: Linh (2021, February 8) Thị trường du lịch nội địa biến động mạnh dịch Covid-19 From: https://nhandan.com.vn/tin-tuc-du-lich/thi-truong-du-lich-noidia-bien-dong-manh-boi-dich-covid-19-634980/ [5]: Linh, T (2021, January 3) Du lịch Việt Nam 2020: phát huy nội lực “bão Covid-19” From: https://nhandan.com.vn/dien-dan-dulich/du-lich-viet-nam2020-phat-huy-noi-luc-trong-bao-covid-19-630469/? fbclid=IwAR0KK0t8IOIIrvmOenGz9r5bh3nMJcasLxuxuw0P7OEGuUWL49HugsJmmw [6]: Phuong, B (2020, February 24) Hà Nội: Thúc đẩy du lịch nhờ công nghệ From https://vietnamtourism.gov.vn/index.php/items/31385 ... Covid-19 du lịch Việt Nam xu hướng phát triển năm 2021 From: http://consosukien.vn/nhinlai-tac-dong-cua-dich-covid-19-doi-voi -du- lich-viet-nam-va-xu-huong-phattrien-nam-2021.htm [2]: Dong, Q (2020, ... [4]: Linh (2021, February 8) Thị trường du lịch nội địa biến động mạnh dịch Covid-19 From: https://nhandan.com.vn/tin-tuc -du- lich/thi-truong -du- lich-noidia-bien-dong-manh-boi-dich-covid-1 9-6 34980/... https://nhandan.com.vn /du- lich /du- lich-viet-nam-vuot-kho-timthoi-co-trong-thach-thuc-627470/?fbclid=IwAR2IcnPvZFSXL3mu8zCk8qaY2yQPHlIZ-mcvDjsGCvSABhsfD6eb-7Sv3k [3]: Khó khăn với lao động ngành du lịch “bão” Covid-19 (2020, April 26) From: https://nhandan.com.vn/tin-tuc-xa-hoi/kho-khan-voi-lao-dong-nganh-dulich-trong-bao-covid-1 9-4 56544/