That incident happened during the long Covid-19 pandemic, my friend and I were so busy that we lost contact with each other, even though I remembered when I had free time. Yesterday, I happened to see groups of foreign tourists walking on the street, it seemed like the whole group was the same age, it seemed like a family with children looking at the streets of Phan Thiet with amazement, I suddenly remembered the issue you were concerned about. Is it the winter tourist season, yes, it's the end of November, the time when according to the natural law in Europe, winter has arrived, snow is falling and knocking on every door.
At this time in the past few years, Mui Ne tourism began to welcome visitors from many countries around the world to relax, but the most prominent visitors were Russian and German visitors. A group of visitors who preferred budget travel like Russian visitors, which according to tourism establishments was 50% staying at resorts and 50% staying at motels. There was also a group of luxury visitors, 100% of whom were rich travelers, German visitors who preferred to stay at resorts with as many stars as possible. Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened, followed by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which made it impossible for the winter season in Binh Thuan to form another season. It continued like that for 3 years. This year, there is a glimmer of hope that a real tourist season will form, especially when German visitors appear early.
Dear friend!
I'm so long-winded, so you understand that in this context, the resort capital region has had unexpected developments in attracting international visitors. Similar to the past months, when there were two expressways Dau Giay - Phan Thiet, Phan Thiet - Vinh Hao, Binh Thuan tourism has now attracted a number of visitors far exceeding the plan. The estimate is that by the end of the year it will be 8.3 million. Separately, domestic visitors are the main ones, foreign visitors only stop at about 230,000, a small number. But if compared to 2022 with 87,000 foreign visitors, it is an increase of nearly 3 times. And if compared to 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of foreign visitors this year is estimated to be only 30-40%. But even so, at least it shows a gradual recovery for a winter season.
When I asked the tourist agencies about the groups of tourists I saw that day, they said they were German tourists. This year, German tourists suddenly came to Mui Ne nearly 1.5 months earlier than usual (before the Covid-19 pandemic), while they usually came right on Christmas. I don't understand why they arranged to go to Mui Ne so early this year, while Russian tourists who used to roam Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street a few years ago are now absent. There is no need to explain the story, everyone knows the reason. Regardless of Russia and Ukraine still fighting, regardless of the skyrocketing crude oil prices, regardless of the disruption in the supply chain of goods... German tourists come to Vietnam, staying for the winter in the coastal city of Phan Thiet, where in the past few days, fog has been lingering on the streets and on the sea as far as the eye can see, in the early morning and late afternoon.
The owner of a restaurant on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street excitedly said that this year's winter season, his restaurant opened early because he saw German customers knocking on the door. They were regular customers who had not come for a long time and this year's winter season, they returned with excitement. In the past few days, his restaurant has welcomed about 30 German customers per day, a sign of hope for a bustling winter season this year.
Dear friend!
The winter tourist season usually starts from November this year to April next year, according to the solar calendar. Many years ago, with the passion for this land, many foreign tourists stayed in Mui Ne all day and month during the season, not going elsewhere; some guests stayed through the main season. At that time, resorts competed to attract and retain guests, creating soft power, contributing to defining the title of resort capital. But the law of life is often not a straight line, but follows a graph model, so just look at the past 3 years, the winter tourist season has gone down, this year it will recover and flourish. It is not just a vague hope but has a basis. That Binh Thuan tourism will improve the number of tourists in 2024. Because the war tension has caused a less widespread impact, people around the world have also gotten used to the difficulties. Because the government opened up early after the pandemic and now also discovered the shortcomings, it has been and is fixing them, to attract more visitors than other countries in the region. And because the tourism facilities in the province, after so many events, know how to strengthen their “soft power” to attract and retain visitors. Do you see that?
Phan Thiet, November 25, 2023
BICH NGHI - PHOTO BY N. LAN
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