Some 90-95% of the travel companies in HCM City have suspended operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the municipal Department of Tourism reported on August 24.

A corner of Ho Chi Minh City 

The pandemic has forced companies to split their workforce into shifts working from home or to lay off employees until the outbreak is brought under control.

Occupancy in local accommodation is down 91.5% year-on-year, while the number of workers in the sector fell 61%. Businesses are forecast to face more difficulties in the time ahead.

Given this, the municipal Department of Tourism has mapped out two scenarios and specific measures to support these companies.

Under the first scenario, in which the disease is contained by September, the department will roll out a tourism promotion programme in the domestic market, linking travel companies, accommodation facilities, transport businesses, and tourist sites to introduce new and safe products, said Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, deputy director of the department.

In the other, under which the pandemic lasts until the end of the year, the department will focus on workforce restructuring and training and helping businesses with market orientation and product building.

The department has also proposed the municipal People’s Committee continue with concrete solutions and create favourable conditions for travel companies to access the Government’s support packages, Hoa said.