The Department of Tourism of Hanoi announced at a recent press conference that a forum will be held from November 27 to 28 to link the development of tourism between Hanoi, the southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and the Central Key Economic Region. The region covers the four provinces of Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh.

The forum will be hosted by Quang Nam in the central province and will mark a new development in cooperation between local leaders, tourism management agencies and associations, and travel companies. It will focus on national tourism management, human resource development, product development and promotion.

The forum will hold a tourism development agreement signing ceremony between Hanoi and the HCM city government, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, tourism associations and travel agencies in the seven regions. Other activities include business matching and exhibitions to promote famous tourist attractions, products and local features.

Other activities include business matching and exhibitions to promote famous tourist attractions, products and local features.

Intra-regional development cooperation is seen as an effective way to revitalize domestic tourism activities. According to the municipal Department of Tourism, Hanoi received 7.27 million tourists from January to October, a decrease of 69 per cent from the same period last year. This was mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, about 29 million tourists came to the capital, including 7 million foreigners.

As per the Hanoi Tourism Department, the successful containment of the second COVID-19 outbreak provided an opportunity for the revival and prosperity of the local tourism industry.

It has cooperated with Hanoi Tourism Association, travel agencies, airlines, hotels and destinations to discuss the development solutions in the new environment. It requires tourism service providers and places of interest to diversify their products, introduce travel demand stimulus and reorganize their activities to improve efficiency.

Meanwhile, Hanoi will strengthen COVID-19 prevention measures in public places, especially bars and karaoke lounges. There are no new local case recorded in the capital for more than 2 months, but the municipal health department said the risk of the virus is still high, especially as more international flights begin to resume.