- 23/03/2020
Some tourists who had their trips canceled in Vietnam because of the novel coronavirus fears want to come back when the virus is finally brought to the heel.
French tourist Vincent Sokol wanted to visit the hometown of his mother in Son Tay Province , about 42 kilometers from the center of Hanoi in Northern Vietnam, but his journey in the Central Highlands had been cut short.
During three weeks between March 08 and 28, Sokol had to wait a long time for the chance to fly across Vietnam with a party of 17 other Europeans.On his recent trip to the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands, there was a strong impression on him about the photos of women working hard in the fields, tireless people, or the simple things he saw on the road.
Sokos is in a hotel in downtown Saigon waiting for the 20th of March to board a plane back to France. Photo of VnExpress/ Nguyen Nam.
His group has recently been denied entry by the authorities in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum. Instead, they were forced to go to the neighboring Dak Lak Province, where the hotel only accepted on the persuasion of the tour company. They canceled their itineraries to Hoi An ancient town in central Vietnam and some northern destinations as scheduled.They returned to HCMC on March 17 to go home on March 20.
The abrupt change left him unwilling, as initially intended, to visit the hometown of his mother. He also understood, however, why many tourist attractions were closed in Vietnam, and why the authorities in Kon Tum did not allow them to enter.
“We don’t feel awkward because everyone knew this is a global pandemic.These actions help to protect the community’s safety. Particularly, we felt warm-hearted as Dam San hotel in Buon Me Thuot ( a town in Dak Lak ) agreed to let us stay one night when we couldn’t continue the journey”. Sokol said.
Sokol said he would love to return to Vietnam to visit the hometown of his mother and the tourist attractions he’d missed.
Serge, another Belgian tourist in the delegation, said he would return to Vietnam in the near future to learn more about local culture and heritage.He had looked forward to learning about Northern Vietnam’s communal culture but due to the country’s epidemic, his wish was not fulfilled. Serge said the delegation met with several suspicious stares, but was generally polite with the locals.
Before leaving, Belgian Marie Line had contacted the travel agency in Belgium repeated before leaving to ensure that their trip would start smoothly. At the time, the outbreak of Covid-19 had not yet spread widely across Europe, affecting Italy mainly.
The trip to explore a distant Asian country has been a special occasion for her and her husband to mark their 20th anniversay of their marriage. “ our friends said there are many unique heritages and cultural customs in Vietnam. Moreover, there are beautiful landscapes and unique cultural characteristics”, she said.
The pair had enjoyed the local life of the Mekong Delta over the las few days. Her delegation visited Cai Be Town in Tien Giang Province and spent four generations witnessing things such as cooking and sleeping in a local home.
“ I was very shocked because I didn’t think so many generations would live in a laugh- fiilled house. I felt content,” Line said
A group of French tourists visit a rubber forest on their way from Dak lak Province to HCMC on March 17, 2020 after authorities in Kon Tum Province refused entry due to coronavirus fears. Image acquired by VnExpress.
Recently, many hotels and tourist establishments have refused to accept foreigners, particularly European tourists, in the sense of many having been confirmed positive for the Vietnamese novel coronavirus.
Of the 78 cases of coronavirus reported in the nation since March 06 after the country went 22 days without infection, 24 are foreigners. Twenty two are European and two are American
Increasing discrimination against foreigners due to fears of coronavirus prompted Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to order severe punishment of offenders to safeguard the image of tourism in the country.
Recently, the World Health Organization called Europe the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic which spread to 186 countries and territories claiming more than 11,400 deaths.
State-wide officials have been pressing for discrimination to protect the image of the government. Hue , Hoi An and Da Nang authorities have urged hotels and restaurants to remain welcoming to international visitors.
The novel coronavirus slashed an estimated &7 billion off Vietnam’s tourism revenue in January – February with the number of hotel guests dropping 60-70 percent year-on- year, government office head Mai Tien Dung said at last week's conference.
Original article : VnExpress International