Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man speaks at the Tourism Conference 2021, themed “Vietnam’s Tourism – Recovery and Development”, in the central province of Nghe An on December 25. (Photo: VNA)

Many countries have soon adopted policies and measures to reopen their doors to foreign visitors and revive tourism, and this prompts Vietnam to keep up with this trend and not waste the time, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man told a conference on December 25 afternoon.

The hybrid Tourism Conference 2021, themed “Vietnam’s Tourism – Recovery and Development”, was held in the central province of Nghe An to discuss ways to accelerate the industry’s recovery and growth in the coming time.

Man highlighted the importance of tourism in each country’s socio-economic development strategy, saying it made up about 10.4 percent of the global GDP growth and 10.6 percent of jobs globally in 2019. In Vietnam, the industry generated some 32.8 billion USD in revenue the same year, or 9.2 percent of the national GDP, and created around 2.5 million jobs, he highlighted.

The sector has remained on hold because of COVID-19, with most firms closed down or suspending operation, causing a large number of workers left jobless.

Man emphasised it is crucial to have a comprehensive assessment on the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism and the industry’s current status and future outlook which will lay a basis for making recommendations and proposing solutions for reviving tourism in the time ahead.

Recovery solutions must focus on improving Vietnam’s tourism competitiveness and bring its potential and advantages into full play to create distinctive, culturally and historically rich products and brands, he noted, adding that they must also take into account conservation of cultural heritages, protection of the environment and natural landscapes, and sustainable tourism development./.