Ha Long strives to overcome damage and restore tourism activities

Yagi is the second strongest super typhoon in the world since the beginning of 2024 and the strongest typhoon to enter the East Sea in the past 30 years. The super typhoon swept through the tourism capital of Ha Long and left behind heavy losses, but with the spirit of self-reliance and taking advantage of every opportunity to recover, businesses in the industry are using every solution to quickly restore the growth rate and tourism image of Ha Long.

Heavy damage

Located in the Don Dien area, Ha Khau ward, next to the entrance gate of Tuan Chau entertainment area, the two stores displaying, cultivating and experiencing pearl farming of Ha Long Pearl Joint Stock Company were devastated after the storm. The My Ngoc and Le Pearl stores, which were newly invested in building luxury and modernity, had their roofs blown off by the storm, and their glass doors were broken. The stores had to temporarily stop receiving customers, and only on September 13th were they partially repaired.

More seriously, the Company's two farms in Vong Vieng and Bo Hon Island in Ha Long Bay were also destroyed by Typhoon Yagi, and it is temporarily impossible to access them or calculate the specific damage. "On the 5th day after the storm passed, we are still in shock. The impact of the storm was terrible, the Company almost lost everything, the estimated damage could be up to 80% of the total value of assets. Everyone is still cleaning up to ensure environmental sanitation, calculating the damage and finding every solution to restore business operations as soon as possible. Fortunately, our goods were not affected. The safety of the company's staff and workers is guaranteed" - Ms. Nguyen Thuy Huong, Director of Ha Long Pearl Joint Stock Company, shared.

Not only Ha Long Pearl, super typhoon Yagi passed by leaving a long trail of devastation and destruction along the coastal road in the tourist center of Bai Chay.

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The central commercial area of ​​Bai Chay was devastated after storm Yagi, September 8.

The bustling Old Quarter with restaurants located close together now has only aluminum frames. The signs were torn apart by the storm, the streets were littered with broken glass, and all the decorations of the restaurants were destroyed. It is estimated that each business here suffered hundreds of millions of dong in damage. As soon as the storm passed, the businesses started cleaning and repairing. According to the people doing business here, it took 5-7 days for the fastest businesses, and 10-20 days for the most severely damaged businesses to complete the cleaning and repairing.

As for the Ha Long tourist fleet, Typhoon Yagi sank 26 sightseeing and accommodation boats; hundreds of boats were partially or partially damaged. To overcome the damage caused by the storm, the boat owners are carrying out salvage and repair of sunken boats. Mr. Tran Van Hong, Head of the Ha Long Tourist Boat Association, said: The Association has been grasping the damage situation, supporting members, building proposals with the authorities to have timely support policies, helping boat owners overcome difficult times, especially financial difficulties so that boat owners have capital to reinvest and restore business operations.

At Sunworld Park, the most severely damaged was the Sun Wheel. 3 cabins of the wheel were blown away by the storm, and the water park's slides were also broken by the storm. On the morning of September 8, just a few hours after Typhoon Yagi swept through Ha Long, Sun Group conducted a survey and assessed the damage to come up with a plan to repair and restore operations. As for Ha Long International Passenger Port, 2/3 of the port's berths have returned to normal operations.

Promoting the spirit of "winning the storm"

Realizing that the consequences of the storm on the city were very severe, immediately after the storm dissipated, Ha Long City launched a 7-day peak campaign across the city to clean up and handle all fallen trees on main roads, clean up the environment, ensure social security, and rescue. The most important task of the city at this time is to overcome the consequences of storm Yagi so that people's lives and business activities can return to normal, so that Ha Long can regain its image as a Heritage City and a tourist city as soon as possible.

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Ha Long City launched a 7-day campaign to clean up the environment, bringing a bright, green and clean look to the province's tourist center.

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Ha Long Street (Cong Doan Hotel area, Bai Chay ward) traffic was almost paralyzed after storm No. 3, and was cleared by Ha Long City on September 10. Photo: Hoang Nga

According to Mr. Vu Kien Cuong, Head of Ha Long Bay Management Board, on September 8 and 9, the unit urgently mobilized forces to overcome the damage and check the conditions and facilities. From September 10, a number of tourist attractions in Ha Long Bay were ready to welcome and serve visitors, including route 1 (Thien Cung cave, Dau Go cave), route 2 (Ti Top island, Sung Sot cave, Luon cave, Trinh Nu cave).

On the first day of welcoming visitors back after the super typhoon, Ha Long Bay welcomed nearly 4,000 visitors, mainly international visitors from countries such as China, South Korea... Visitors traveled from Hanoi to Ha Long early in the morning, according to a pre-arranged schedule.

Specifically, at Tuan Chau International Passenger Port, 84 ships departed, with 2,310 tourists, including 615 staying in Ha Long Bay. At Ha Long International Passenger Port, on September 10, nearly 1,560 tourists boarded ships to visit Ha Long Bay and returned to shore the same day. Some tourism units operating in Ha Long Bay said they welcomed guests back on September 10, such as Grand Pioneers Cruises, Athena Cruise and Signature Cruise, and Ambassador Cruises.

In particular, the high-end accommodation system in Bai Chay ward, with 4 and 5-star hotels, has basically not been interrupted by the storm. Many hotels have become safe havens for tourists, receiving visitors from neighboring hotels to stay. Ms. Do Dieu Linh, CEO of Muong Thanh Luxury Halong Center Hotel, said: "From September 8, when some neighboring hotels lost power and did not have a replacement generator, our hotel received additional bookings from individual guests who proactively contacted us to stay."

The damage was quickly repaired, many hotels were able to contribute and participate in the city's post-storm recovery activities, such as Oakwood Hotel (part of Sun Group) providing laundry services at the same price as the people; committed to providing all types of bread at the original price, without profit, to help people stock up on food and overcome the difficult period. Or Wyndham Legend Ha Long Hotel also has a program to accompany people to overcome difficulties with a preferential room package of only 1.4 million VND/room/night for 2 adults and 2 children. The room includes breakfast for the whole family with electricity, water, wifi...

Super typhoon Yagi swept through the capital tourist city of Quang Ninh , but with the spirit of self-reliance and self-reliance, Ha Long tourism will certainly soon regain growth momentum, returning with a brighter and more innovative appearance than before.