This can be considered a remarkable effort of the province's tourism when the tourism infrastructure of many localities and businesses was devastated by super typhoon Yagi just a few hours after it raged into Quang Ninh. Now, the picture of Quang Ninh tourism still has many dark colors but there are some encouraging bright spots.
terrifying destruction
The devastation caused by Typhoon Yagi is still a haunting experience for many people and businesses. According to the general assessment of the tourism industry, just a preliminary assessment of the damage has produced frightening results.
In particular, the tourist accommodation block suffered damage from small-scale establishments, motels to 4-5 star luxury accommodation establishments. The largest damage was probably in Ha Long City when the accommodation establishments on shore suffered damage related to broken glass, broken roof tiles of villas, collapsed by wind, damaged ceilings, damaged furniture in the rooms, reception areas, restaurants, bars, and auxiliary areas. Along with that were broken trees, lamp posts in the premises, and damage to the electrical system, air conditioning, water, etc.
Tuan Chau International Passenger Port has resumed welcoming tourists after Typhoon Yagi. Photo: Do Phuong
The block of restaurants, shops, shopping centers, business establishments, souvenir shops, many of which mainly use steel frames, corrugated iron roofs, and simple materials, all collapsed, were blown away, broken, severely damaged, and many were even completely damaged. Some key tourist attractions such as: Quang Ninh Museum, Planning Palace, Provincial Fair and Exhibition, Sunworld entertainment area, Tuan Chau tourist area... suffered heavy damage to facilities...
Tourism service and management facilities on Ha Long Bay are also in a similar situation. According to the unit's statistics, most of the management and operation points on the bay of the Ha Long Bay Management Board have had their roofs blown off, damaged, or sunk. The Cua Van Floating Cultural Center was severely damaged, and 15 preserved raft houses at Cua Van were completely submerged. The stone railing of the wharf leading to Thien Cung Cave was broken. Many equipment, machinery, signs, and regulation boards were broken. Ornamental plants at tourist attractions on Ha Long Bay were almost completely broken.
Property of people and businesses at boat rowing and kayaking service points in the areas of Ba Hang, Cong Do, Cua Van, Hang Luon, Vung Vieng on Ha Long Bay was severely damaged. The system of tourist ports was more or less damaged. In particular, Tuan Chau International Passenger Port had its roof damaged. The offices and reception areas of businesses at the port were all damaged. Ha Long International Passenger Port had the entire pontoon of wharf No. 3 washed away, and 2 pontoons of wharf No. 2 sank. Businesses and tourist boat owners continued to be devastated after the storm when up to 27 tourist boats and 4 cargo boats sank, some boats were slightly damaged.
Quang Ninh Gate tourist area is focusing all its efforts on repairing, cleaning, and sanitizing the environment to be able to welcome guests back in October.
Along with Ha Long, other localities also recorded significant damage to tourism service infrastructure, green landscape systems that create beauty for destinations in the area. For example, at Quang Ninh Gate Tourist Area (Dong Trieu Town) with an area of 20 hectares, including entertainment systems, resorts... located along the Vang Chua River.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Trang, Executive Director of Quang Ninh Gate Tourist Area, shared: When the storm hit, trees fell, thatched roofs, tiled roofs, and corrugated iron were blown away, and a few days after the storm, just as we had time to clean up, the river water rose up to a meter, flooding the entire tourist area. When the water rose, we had to wait for the water to move things, but after the water receded, there was no electricity or water, and we had to wait to clean up all the facilities on such a large area. The rooms and equipment were soaked in water for a long time, so cleaning and repairing were very difficult. The damage to Quang Ninh Gate was huge. We are mobilizing staff from all member units to support us in cleaning, repairing, and partially repairing so that we can welcome guests back in early October...
Long term fix
The damage to tourism after Typhoon Yagi is difficult to measure, especially when tourism businesses have not yet fully recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic has passed. Recovery will also be a long-term story, but with a solid foundation and strong spirit of the tourism industry that has developed over a long period of time in Quang Ninh, we have hope for a revival and a chance for a spectacular recovery in the near future.
Tourists experience services at Legacy Yen Tu Resort after storm Yagi. Photo: Hoang Quynh
As of September 13, the province has 11/12 districts, towns, and cities with recognized tourist areas and spots ready to welcome visitors again after quickly cleaning and consolidating. Among them, the two tourist areas of Binh Lieu and Co To have both overcome the storm's impact and welcomed visitors. 67/87 tourist spots are ready to welcome visitors again.
Ha Long City has 39 4-5 star hotels with 8,572 rooms, of which 5,196 rooms are ready to welcome guests (accounting for 60% of the total number of rooms). There are 36 hotels that are both under repair and welcoming guests (accounting for 85%). The 1-3 star tourist accommodation block that meets standards is still ready to welcome guests with about 580 hotels, including 8,540 rooms.
In addition, the system of large, solid restaurants in Bai Chay and Hon Gai areas are still operating normally. Many souvenir shops and tourist service establishments are ready to reopen; many cafes and night eateries are operating normally.
In localities such as Mong Cai, Hai Ha, Uong Bi, 100% of accommodation facilities are ready to welcome guests; 30% of accommodation facilities with 60% of the total number of rooms in Co To district are ready to welcome guests; some onshore facilities in Van Don are also ready to serve...
This shows the great efforts of localities, businesses and individuals participating in tourism business in the area. For example, Legacy Yen Tu, although affected by flooding due to rising stream water, broken trees, prolonged power, water and telecommunication outages, has quickly overcome the situation to be able to welcome guests during and immediately after the storm. Businesses such as Ha Long Pearl Joint Stock Company also temporarily put aside worries about the destruction of pearl farms in the bay, urgently cleaned up and repaired 2 display, cultivation and pearl farming experience shops whose roofs were blown off and glass doors were broken by the storm, so that they could welcome guests after 3 days of the storm.
The Grand Pioneers cruise ship was not affected by the storm and is among 315 cruise ships ready to welcome visitors and guests staying in Ha Long Bay.
Even Van Don International Airport and the two international passenger ports of Tuan Chau and Ha Long, which were more or less damaged, were soon put back into operation. Cruise ships quickly repaired their facilities, ready to operate 315/359 ships at both ports, accounting for 88%, including sightseeing ships, restaurant ships, and overnight ships.
Although not all, some destinations on the Ha Long Bay tour were also quickly checked and scanned to be ready to welcome guests, including sightseeing spots and overnight accommodations on the bay. And from September 13, cruise ships were ordered to continue taking visitors to visit and stay overnight on Ha Long Bay...
It is easy to see that tourism activities in Quang Ninh have recovered quickly after Typhoon Yagi. However, the assessment also shows that the impact of Typhoon No. 3 will lead to a weakening of the financial capacity of enterprises at different levels, affecting many aspects of the province, affecting the jobs and income of thousands of workers.
Therefore, supporting businesses and tourism workers to recover strongly in the coming time requires practical attention, consensus and joint efforts of the province and responsible agencies as well as efforts of each facility, unit and tourism business in the area. The support is not only for a moment, in the short term, but it is necessary to have a roadmap and long-term solutions so that tourism businesses have a foundation to ensure truly sustainable development...
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