Speaking at the national conference on tourism in Da Nang on Saturday, Thien said the number of foreign arrivals to Viet Nam is forecast to plunge by over 80% this year.

Last July, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimated that the world’s tourism sector could lose at least US$1.2 trillion, or 1.5% of the global GDP.

The body had warned that the loss could rise to US$2.2 trillion, or 2.8% of the world’s GDP if the break in international tourism last for eight months.

As the pandemic has been brought under control for nearly three months, the Vietnamese Government asked for making every effort to pursue the dual goal of pandemic containment and economic recovery.

The organization of the national conference on tourism is part of the Government’s measures to seek ways to reboot tourism development in “new normal” situation.

Tourism is an important pillar of the economy as it contributes about 6% to the country’s GDP. Inbound tourism grew 22.7% annually on average in the 2015-2019 period, from 7.9 million to 18 million.

Viet Nam ranked 63rd among 140 countries and territories on the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2019, up 12 places from 2015./.

Follow us on Facebook page @VNGov