Hanoi has seen a steady fall in the number of daily new Covid-19 infections over the past 13 days, which will be the key factor to attract more tourists to the capital city, in the context that Vietnam has completely re-launched tourism activities since March 15.

On March 24, Hanoi confirmed a total 12,485 new Covid-19 infections, equal to one-third of the average daily number two weeks ago, according to the Hanoi Department of Health.

Regarding vaccination, as of March 25, more than 82% of people aged 18 and above in Hanoi received their third Covid-19 vaccine shots. Besides, almost all people who needed a booster dose of the vaccine were administered.

Walking street around Hoan Kiem Lake in downtown Hanoi is reopened to attract numerous tourists. Photo: Quang Thai

Sharing with The Hanoi Times in a phone interview, Director of the Hanoi Department of Health Tran Thi Nhi Ha said that the number of cases and hospitalizations tended to fall in the last ten days. The proportion of critically-ill patients is also going down.

“It shows that Hanoi has put the pandemic under control. However, we still need to strengthen the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 virus strains in the city, supervise Covid-19 patients to proactively cope with new strains as soon as they appear,” Ha said.

To adapt to the new situation in a safe and flexible way, the director suggested keeping supervision on people at risk and at high risk, accelerating the third Covid-19 vaccine injection for the entire population, strengthening communication on obeying the pandemic prevention protocols.

Ha stressed the importance of supporting the early treatment of Covid-19 patients and paying attention to the application of technology.

“The situation is expected to improve in the time to come when the pandemic is well under control and the tourism sector fully restored, allowing foreign tourists to return to Vietnam and Hanoi,” Ha said.

Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism Tran Trung Hieu told The Hanoi Times that in the first three months of 2022, Hanoi attracted more than 2.8 million domestic visitors, an increase of more than 45% year-on-year.

Due to the impacts of Covid-19, the number of tourists to popular destinations in the city has remained modest although municipal authorities allowed the reopening of attraction sites in February.

“To adapt to the new situation and draw more domestic and international visitors, tourist attraction sites in the city have taken flexible measures for promotion and the creation of more attractive offers for visitors, including gift presenting programs,” Hieu said.

Hanoi is aimed at welcoming 9-10 million visitors, including 1.2-2 million foreigners this year and 12-14 million tourists, including 2.5-3.5 million foreigners, in 2023.