On the morning of 15/3, Binh Dinh attends the national tourism conference 2023

The 2023 National Tourism Conference took place on the morning of 15/3 chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, many ministries and agencies, 3 provinces and cities, tourism businesses, associations and airlines. Its aim was to put forward unified, resolute solutions to prepare the tourism sector, and specifically localities, for the 2023 tourism season targets.

Also attending the conference were Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, leaders of ministries and agencies, 63 provinces and cities, and tourism associations, businesses and airlines. The conference was held in a hybrid in-person and online format.

Photo: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the tourism conference on the morning of 15/3

Representing Binh Dinh province, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Lam Hai Giang chaired the conference at the Binh Dinh bridge point.

Photo: The Binh Dinh bridge point joins the online meeting on 15/3

At the conference, representatives of various units assessed the current state of Vietnam’s tourism industry after a long period of difficulty and challenge due to the pandemic.

With the reopening from 15/3/2022, Vietnam became the first country in Southeast Asia to fully reopen tourism and one of 62 countries in the world to fully lift COVID-19-related entry restrictions. Implementing Government Resolution No. 25/NQ-CP dated 07/3/2022, Resolution No. 32/NQ-CP dated 15/3/2022 and Official Dispatch No. 513/CD-VPCP dated 19/01/2022 on building a safe, scientific and effective roadmap to reopen to international tourists, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Plan No. 829/PA-BVHTTDL dated 15/3/2022 on reopening tourism activities under the new normal, and focused on directing and organizing activities to reopen tourism safely and effectively in the spirit of the Government and Prime Minister’s direction of “flexible, safe adaptation and effective control of the COVID-19 epidemic”.

The Prime Minister raised very frank and direct issues to optimally direct plans to recover the tourism industry, given limited resources and the fact that Vietnam’s tourism competitiveness in general still cannot be compared with other countries in many respects.

According to data compiled by the General Statistics Office, in 2022 Vietnam welcomed 3.5 million international visitors, reaching 70% of the plan, with visitors arriving by air accounting for nearly 68% of all international arrivals. The domestic market recovered quickly and strongly. After the epidemic was brought under control, domestic visitors in 2022 were estimated at 101.3 million (more than one and a half times the target of 60 million and well above the 85 million domestic visitors in 2019). During the COVID-19 period, the domestic tourist market was the solid foundation that allowed Vietnam’s tourism industry to gradually recover and develop. In 2022, total tourism revenue was estimated at VND 495 trillion, exceeding the plan by 23% and reaching 66% of 2019.

Photo: Thi Nai Bridge – a famous landmark in Binh Dinh

At the conference, delegates also discussed and proposed solutions to handle difficulties, obstacles and their causes in order to receive support from the relevant units

As for Binh Dinh, with the existing potential of a locality with a strong tourism tradition, the province is also ready with synchronized solutions to stimulate tourism demand and receive the number of visitors targeted nationally. Binh Dinh’s tourism development is currently fairly well-rounded, with a beautiful geographic location, a multi-layered cultural foundation and physical infrastructure that is changing strongly. Unfortunately, the momentum of tourism in the land of martial arts was suddenly halted by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past 03 years, so starting again will be relatively hard; however, with the efforts of the agencies concerned throughout this time, Binh Dinh is forecast to recover its tourism industry according to plan and may even exceed it.