Tourism businesses strive to adapt to overcome super storm No. 3

Local floods stop receiving visitors

Due to prolonged heavy rains from the effects of storm No. 3, floods and landslides occurred in many northern localities such as Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Lai Chau, etc. Therefore, many localities stopped tourism activities or advised tourists to limit their travel to areas at risk of being unsafe.

According to information from the National Tourism Administration, due to flooding, Ha Giang province recommends not to travel to areas at risk of landslides and flash floods such as Meo Vac, Thuan Hoa - Thai An road; Dong Van - Meo Vac road; some roads and residential areas in Ha Giang city and Hoang Su Phi, Xin Man, Quang Binh districts...

Tourists visit Ha Long Bay before storm No. 3 makes landfall. Photo: Hoai Nam

Similarly, since September 8, Sa Pa town (Lao Cai) has sent an official dispatch requesting Hoang Lien National Park, the Tourism and Monuments Development Management Board, and the Ham Rong Tourist Area Management Board to temporarily stop receiving visitors. A representative of Sun World Fansipan said that to ensure storm and flood prevention, the tourist area will be temporarily closed from September 9 until further notice.

Not only Lao Cai has temporarily stopped welcoming tourists due to storms and floods, since September 6, Trang An eco-tourism area (Ninh Binh) has temporarily stopped welcoming visitors. Since September 7, Tam Dao district (Vinh Phuc) has arranged two-way barriers on the way up and down Tam Dao mountain to block the road, not allowing people and vehicles to go up and down the mountain in bad weather conditions. On September 9, Cao Bang province also advised tourists not to approach dangerous areas, not to participate in activities such as visiting Ban Gioc waterfall, rafting, swimming, or climbing mountains...

Due to the complicated situation of rain and floods, many travel companies have been forced to cancel tours to the North. Kiwi Travel Director Pham Quy Huy said that the company had just had to cancel a tour taking 100 guests from Ho Chi Minh City to the North in early September. Similarly, Saigontouris Travel Marketing and Communications Director Doan Thi Thanh Tra said that due to the storm, the company's tours to the Northeast and Northwest regions departing in September have been temporarily suspended or postponed depending on the weather.

Tourists visit Fansipan peak (Lao Cai) before storm No. 3 makes landfall. Photo: Hoai Nam

From the perspective of a business providing services to travel agencies, Dinh Thi Thu Thao, Sales Director of online booking platform Mustgo, with more than 2,000 hotel partners nationwide, said that current bookings are affecting the business situation for the whole month of September. "The number of guests canceling and rescheduling their bookings accounts for about 80% of bookings in the Northern region," Thao shared.

Businesses offer many options

Information from tourism businesses shows that, to ensure the rights of tourists who have booked tours departing in September, businesses have come up with many response plans such as changing tour schedules and postponing departure dates.

Deputy General Director of Viet Media - Tourism Company Pham Anh Vu informed that the company has proposed two options for customers to choose from. Specifically, for those who still want to travel to the Northern provinces, they will be moved to another day. If tourists want to change or transfer their Northern tours to other tourist routes such as Phu Quoc, Central Vietnam, the company will support the fee to change air tickets from 800,000 - 2,000,000 VND/person, depending on the flight route. "This is the cost that our company pays, currently airlines do not have a plan to support tourists to change flight routes".

Nha Trang is one of the destinations chosen by tourism businesses to take tourists to instead of the flooded northern tourist destinations. Photo: Hoai Nam

Similarly, Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of Best Price, said that the company had several foreign groups booking tours to Ha Long, but due to Typhoon Yagi, all these schedules were canceled. To ensure the interests of customers, the company has proposed a plan that if customers stay in Vietnam for a long time and still want to travel to Ha Long after the weather stabilizes, the company can flexibly postpone the departure date. In case customers decide to return home early, we will refund according to the provisions of the contract.

According to Marketing Director of Vietravel Tourism Company Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, due to the large number of customers changing their departure dates for tours to the North, our company has also negotiated with partners to support service cancellation or schedule changes without incurring additional costs, especially in unexpected cases such as natural disasters.

Golden Bridge (Da Nang) is one of the places chosen by travel companies as an alternative destination to the flooded North. Photo: Hoai Nam

Information from Vietluxtour Travel Company shows that for international tourists who have a pre-arranged tour schedule, the company has proactively coordinated with customers and partners to change the tour itinerary to ensure safety and help customers still have unique travel experiences in Vietnam.

According to Soha Group Domestic and International Travel Joint Stock Company, this unit has also postponed many tour schedules to areas heavily affected by the storm. For tours still taking place in areas less affected, the company has adjusted the schedule to avoid areas with danger warnings, and added indoor activities.

Meanwhile, Director of Vietfoot Travel Company Pham Duy Nghia also confirmed that storm No. 3 caused great damage. In order to ensure maximum safety for tourists, the company has made plans to adjust such as postponing, rescheduling or moving to locations not affected by storms and floods.

“Currently, the company has a group of 200 guests registered to visit Ha Long Bay, but due to storms, the group has been transferred to Da Nang so that customers can have the best experience, despite the unexpected situation. Support options such as changing the itinerary or refunding money are implemented quickly and transparently, to bring benefits to customers,” Mr. Nghia stated.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/doanh-nghiep-du-lich-no-luc-thich-ung-vuot-con-sieu-bao-so-3.html