Tiếng Anh du lịch - Case study - TOURISM SERVICES IN 2020 REPORT

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 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.

(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].


(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].


(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.


(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 của dịch Covid-19 đối với du lịch
Việt Nam và xu hướng phát triển năm 2021. From: />[2]: Dong, Q. (2020, December 9). Du lịch Việt Nam vượt khó, tìm thời cơ trong thách
thức. From: />[3]: Khó khăn với lao động ngành du lịch trong “bão” Covid-19. (2020, April 26).
From: />[4]: Linh. (2021, February 8). Thị trường du lịch nội địa biến động mạnh bởi dịch
Covid-19. From: />[5]: Linh, T. (2021, January 3). Du lịch Việt Nam 2020: phát huy nội lực trong “bão
Covid-19”. From: />fbclid=IwAR0KK0t8IOIIrvmOenGz9r5bh3nMJcasLxuxuw0P7OEGuUWL49HugsJmmw
[6]: Phuong, B. (2020, February 24). Hà Nội: Thúc đẩy du lịch nhờ công nghệ. From
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