HCM CITY  The tourism sector is on the path to recovery after seeing very few travellers during the fourth COVID-19 pandemic wave.

Nearly two months after tourism activities resumed, tourist arrivals to Đa Lạt City in the Central Highlands of Lam Đồng have been on the rise, particularly on weekends. Open space cafes and famous outdoor tourist destinations in the city attract crowds of up to thousands of people daily.

This time of the year is also the best period to visit Phu Quốc Island in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang. The cool weather is ideal for sightseeing and recreation activities. Called "Pearl Island", it has been a draw for domestic and foreign holidaymakers.

Director of the Kien Giang Department of Tourism Bui Quốc Thai said that because of the implementation of vaccine passports for foreign travellers and new pandemic regulations, the number of tourists to Kien Giang has been rising since November.

Meanwhile, in HCM City, the tourism hub is ready to welcome foreign travellers during the coming Christmas season, as the city has now been qualified for tourism reopening. The city aims to receive international visitors early next year.

The  city's tourism authority will strengthen communication about safe tourism, coordination of tourism reopening in localities, and policies to encourage businesses to create new tourism products and services.

Since early October, the central government has eased such restrictions and reopened the economy under a new strategy of living safely with the COVID-19.

At the recent seminar "Opening tourism, economic recovery" organised by Thanh Nien (Youth), Nguyễn Ngọc Toản, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, said that the Government is concerned about reviving the tourism sector as it is an important part of the economy.

Localities and tourism  businesses are advised to uphold the role of alliances and linkages between destinations, agencies, airlines and hotels so as to build new, safe and appealing tourism programmes and packages for sustainable recovery of the sector amid the pandemic. VNS