Happy tourists

Viet Nam ranks fifth in the Happy Planet Index results, and second in the Asia Pacific region, according to the UK-based New Economics Foundation. Viet Nam is one of just three countries in the top ten Happy Planet Index rankings with an Ecological Footprint that is small enough to be considered environmentally sustainable, according to the New Economics Foundation. The nation has an impressive average life expectancy. Both Viet Nam and the Gambia have similar sized economies with similar levels of GDP per capita, yet on average, people from Viet Nam live more than 17 years longer. Viet Nam’s inequality of outcomes rating, which measures inequality in wellbeing and life expectancy scores within the country, is better than that of Costa Rica - a likely testament to Viet Nam’s robust public service provision. School enrolment is among the highest in the world at 98% in 2012, and the number of colleges and universities continues to grow rapidly. Viet Nam is on a steep development trajectory. The country has been hailed as a global poster child for poverty reduction - the number of people living in poverty fell from 58% in 1993 to 10.7% in 2010. The Happy Planet Index combines four elements including wellbeing, life expectancy, inequality of outcomes and ecological footprint to show how efficiently residents of different countries are using environmental resources to lead long, happy lives. …

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The Hanoitimes - Vietnamese high-ranking officials said though the country has not closed the border with China, it has been taking measures of equivalent seriousness. Vietnam has decided to stop issuing visas to all Chinese tourists, except for official and diplomatic passport holders, with an aim to curb the spread of a new coronavirus (nCoV) which broke out from China’s Wuhan city in December 2019. The decision was made during a governmental meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on January 30, local media reported. Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the government meeting on Jan. 30. Photo: VGP PM Phuc required the suspension of tours to and from China while airlines are requested to stop flights from and to epidemic-stricken areas. Accordingly, authorities need to stop sending Vietnamese workers to China while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should get ready to evacuate citizens out of China if necessary. The PM also asked the National Steering Committee on nCoV prevention to closely work with local authorities to keep an eye on the nCoV, saying that banning the travelling of residents in border-to-border trails must be made. Regarding the closure of borders with China, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh said at the meeting that Vietnam can close the borders if necessary. But the closure must meet provisions in an agreement signed with China on closing borders in cases of security or epidemic, Minh added. However, Minh suggested a number of tough measures including banning the tourist flow between the two countries; temporary suspension of goods customs clearance until February 10; sharing and supporting ASEAN members; boosting the production of medical equipment namely masks and protective clothes; and disseminating information of the epidemic. Nguyen Thanh Long, deputy head of the Central Propaganda and Training Commission, who was a deputy health minister, said …

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The Hanoitimes - KB Securities predicted there would be flat growth in foreign tourist arrivals to Vietnam in 2020, compared to 15% growth in 2019. Vietnam major airlines such as national carrier Vietnam Airlines and budget airline Vietjet Air are predicted to face a no-growth scenario in 2020, due to slower growth or even a decline in the number of international tourists on fear of the outbreak of the new coronavirus (nCoV), according to KB Securities. Illustrative photo. This is not to mention the joining of new airlines in the aviation market, making the competition fiercer. According to KB Securities, international flights accounted for 66% of revenue for Vietjet Air (2019) and 65% for Vietnam Airlines (2017). In recent years, major driving forces for local airlines mainly came from opening new international flight routes as the domestic market become saturated. Amid the ongoing outbreak of nCoV in China and countries around the world that claimed 362 deaths and 17,297 cases of infection as of today, the Vietnamese government requested the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to suspend flights to and from nCoV-stricken areas, while Vietnam will stop receiving Chinese tourists. Meanwhile, Hanoi’s authorities have stopped issuing visas for foreigners, including Chinese nationals, who have been in China for the last two weeks. KB Securities expected the nCoV outbreak to cause severe consequences to the aviation industry and tourism similar to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) from November 2002 to July 2003. Countries in East Asia – Pacific witnessed a boom in their respective aviation industries during the 1999 – 2002 period with the average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9%. However, SARS plummeted the growth number of tourists via air transportation to 0.7% in the region in 2003, however, the number rebounded strongly to 39% in 2004. In case of nCoV, KB Securities predicted the impact to be more difficult to evaluate …

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