Over 15,500 licensed tour guides have been put out of work for more than two years due to the pandemic and many of them have decided to leave the tourism sector permanently to earn a living elsewhere.

CNBC - the famous American television channel, officially broadcasted the interview with Deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Ha Van Sieu, regarding Vietnam tourism, on January 17 (local time).

A senior Government official in charge of tourism suggested Vietnam should fully reopen the door to international tourism in April 2022 in order to speed up its ongoing tourism recovery.

The Vietnamese Red River Delta has been named among the list of the top 52 Places for a Changed World in 2022, as selected by the New York Times of the United States.

The market is completely new after Covid-19. All players, small and large, will be at the starting point. Those who have a good start will obtain more market share.

As part of the Government’s cultural development strategy, Vietnam aims to have three cities in the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network across many fields, including cuisine, by 2030.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, at least 35% of international tour operators have applied to have their licenses revoked, while 90-95% of businesses are closed due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than 700,000 small and micro enterprises in the food and beverage sector have suspended their operations, said Nguyen Quoc Ky, chairman of Vietravel and the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association.

For the January-November period of 2021, the number of domestic tourists was 34.75 million, and total revenue was 167 trillion VND, 40% down year on year.

The homestay service in the northern province of Quang Ninh has dynamic growth since 2018, showing off the popular trend of short-term accommodation in the province.

Implementing the second phase of a pilot program on foreign travelers from December 15, 2021 and allowing Vietnamese to travel abroad are among the proposals from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST).

Resumption of safe travel under a ‘tourism bubble’ between Hanoi and 11 cities and provinces is facing challenges.

The owner of a cruise ship sold his three houses to pay debts, while the owner of a hotel hung up a door plate asking for help from the local government. Both are signs of the dire conditions in the tourism sector.

Travel firms are concerned about the inconsistency of policies. The unpredictability makes it impossible to plan their business, they say.

As the tourism market has been in the doldrums during Covid-19, travel firm CEOs have had to take other jobs to earn a living. But in many cases, these choices ended up opening up great opportunities for them.

The first Thai travelers may arrive in Vietnam in December and Vietnamese would be able to travel abroad as part of an official tourism bubble established between the countries.

Cruise owners are worried as their cruise ships have been unused for many months because of Covid-19, while they still have to pay hundreds of million of dong in mooring fees.

Together with the development of the country, it’s impossible to deny the essential role played by local media.

Thirty out of 200 foreign travelers came to Phu Quoc to play golf, which shows the great potential of golf.

Due to the heavy impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on enterprises and workers in the tourism industry, the average tourism wages in Vietnam have fallen by nearly 18%, with the decline for women employees even higher at almost 23%.