VN tourism expected to be first industry to recover after pandemic ends 02:30                Tourism was the first industry hit by Covid-19 and will be the first to recover after the pandemic ends, experts say.   Sharp decline The HCM City Tourism Department reported that 117,000 foreign travelers came to the city in March, a fall of 84.23 percent compared with the same period last year, and 1.3 million foreign travelers came in the first three months of year, a decrease of 42.26 percent. In terms of revenue, the number of clients and average revenue of travel firms in the first two months of the year decreased by 50-60 percent. Ninety percent of small and medium travel firms in HCM City have temporarily closed their operation. A survey found that the revenue of accommodation facilities has dropped by 58.29 percent, conference service providers by 60.8 percent, and restaurant and other business types by 60.1 percent. Since March, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a global pandemic, the tourism industry has become stagnant. Tourism was the first industry hit by Covid-19 and will be the first to recover after the pandemic ends, experts say. The HCM City Tourism Department commented that it has ‘dealt a fatal blow’ to the city’s tourism sector. Vo Thi Ngoc Thuy, deputy director of the department, said in Thanh Nien newspaper that nearly all plans to advertise new products in Q1 have been postponed. The World Tourism Organization has predicted a 1-3 percent decrease in number of international travelers in 2020. This is the first time the number of international visitors is expected to decrease after 10 consecutive years of growth. Vietnam also witnessed a significant decline in foreign arrivals, especially from China and South Korea, the two important markets accounting for 56 percent of foreign travelers to Vietnam in 2019. Recovery According to Savills Vietnam, though the influences of Covid-19 are predicted to last until the end of 2020, tourism and hospitality is believed to be the first sector to see strong recovery. A report shows that 82.5 percent of total travelers were domestic travelers in 2019, while the biggest inbound markets were China and South Korea. With these characteristics, the tourism market is believed to bounce back soon after the epidemic is contained. As soon as the epidemic is contained, the tourism department and businesses will speed up and promote a strong media campaign both in Vietnam and overseas to popularize new images of HCM City as a dynamic, lively and fascinating city. “The detailed plan for each type of key product for different periods is being carefully prepared to be used when necessary,” Thuy said. VNN/Kim Chi