Tourist hotspots witness falling visitor numbers over New Year holiday

In the southern region, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, home to beach town Vung Tau, received 88,700 visitors during the three-day holiday that wrapped up Monday, down 32 percent against the same period last year.

Kien Giang Province, home to Phu Quoc Island, received over 36,000 domestic tourists during the first three days of the new year, a slight decrease against the same period last year.

Phu Quoc also welcomed 276 foreign tourists under an ongoing vaccine passport trial program who visited the island on special tour packages.

Da Lat in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong welcomed over 55,000 domestic tourists during the holiday, down 11.6 percent year-on-year. Despite the drop, some downtown streets and tourist destinations in Da Lat were still jammed with many failing to ensure pandemic prevention measures.

The room occupancy of accommodation facilities in Da Lat reached 70-80 percent during the New Year holiday.

In the northern region, Lao Cai Province, home to resort town Sa Pa, witnessed a year-on-year sharp decrease of 70 percent with the number of domestic visitors reaching only 30,200. Earlier, Lao Cai required visitors from areas with high Covid risks like Hanoi to be isolated for seven days at home or place of accommodation, promoting tourists to cancel their tours.

Hanoi welcomed 60,000 domestic tourists during the holiday, dropping by 49 percent year-on-year. The capital has seen a surge in daily infections over the past two weeks, becoming a Covid hotspot in the country.

Quang Ninh Province, around two hours from Hanoi and home to world famous Ha Long Bay, also saw a 80-percent decrease as the province only allows visitors from green and yellow zones with low and medium Covid risks.

In south central Vietnam, Binh Thuan Province, home to Mui Ne, received around 13,500 visitors, down 60 percent year-on-year.

Khanh Hoa Province, home to Nha Trang and Cam Ranh beach towns, was one of the few tourist hotspots across the country to see a 53-percent surge in visitor numbers during the New Year holiday with 37,500.

Many localities scrapped firework shows and crowded events for this New Year holiday due to the complicated pandemic situation and the emergence of new variant Omicron from imported cases.