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Viet Nam escapes Covid-19 tourist trap

VGP - Holidaymakers are back, and they’re mostly locals. That may be a model for the rest of the world, according to Bloomberg.

June 08, 2020 3:00 PM GMT+7

Vietnamese tourists are holidaying again Photo: Linh Pham/Getty Images 

Viet Nam is pulling ahead in the race to reopen Southeast Asia to city-hoppers and sunseekers.

International arrivals were down 98% in May from a year earlier, after a record 2019. Yet success in containing the coronavirus epidemic means domestic travel has already restarted. Thailand, by comparison, is still under a state of emergency, and other neighbors in the tourism-friendly region are only slowly easing restrictions. The steady reopening will help Viet Nam’s convalescing economy, and may encourage a welcome rethink on leisure industry priorities.

For a country of nearly 100 million that borders China, Viet Nam has been something of a standout case through the pandemic. Official records show just 329 cases and no deaths. That reflects a decision to close borders rapidly, quarantine tens of thousands, and to contact trace and test at impressive levels. Clear official communication, affordable test kits and locally made protective equipment helped. Its lockdown lasted barely a month, and since mid-April, all new cases have been imported. By contrast, Thailand has roughly 3,100 cases, the Philippines over 20,000 and Singapore more than 37,000, mostly in migrant-worker dormitories.

The result is that Viet Nam has been among the first countries globally to get its citizens holidaying again. Tourism makes up only about 9% of the $260 billion economy — a smaller portion than Thailand, where the industry accounts for a fifth of gross domestic product — but it still adds up to some 5 million jobs, many for lower-skilled workers. A “Vietnamese People Travel in Viet Nam” campaign began just as the country’s airline industry restarts regular schedules. Last year, there were 85 million domestic tourists, who made up more than 80% of all visitors — a huge number even if they are less spend thrift than foreigners./.