Phu quoc island

/ June 13, 2021

Vietnam’s top leaders consider vaccine passport

Vietnam vows to pursue the twin goal of containing Covid-19 and developing the economy to serve the recovery plans. Vietnam’s most powerful body Politburo on June 11 required local authorities to pilot vaccine passports to foreign visitors in some unaffected areas like Phu Quoc Island, one of the country’s most tourist attractions. A vaccine passport has been applied in some countries. Photo: Forbes.com So far, Vietnam has not regulated vaccination pass for vaccinated people amid the global popularity. The move was made as part of the effort enabling Vietnam to pursue its twin goal of containing the virus and developing an economy. Local health experts have warned of some risk relating to the vaccine passport, saying that it still requires the 5K (masking – disinfection – distance – no gathering – medical declaration) principle. The government of Vietnam some months ago asked the Ministry of Health to consider the relaxation to open the economy. But Deputy Health Minister Tran Van Tuan said at a government meeting in early May that no vaccine has 100% efficacy and the vaccination has yet proved totally safe. Vaccine passport has been applied in some countries and areas but the World Health Organization (WHO) which called it “immunity” passport has outlined considerations regarding this. “It does not address the use of certificates for signifying a person’s immune status, which reflects whether a person has developed antibodies in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection; whereas vaccination status reflects only whether someone has received a Covid-19 vaccine,” WHO stated. At the meeting on June 11, the Politburo required local authorities to make a public Covid-19 vaccination roadmap amid the increasing infections. The Politburo made the request after the fresh outbreak in Vietnam enters the sixth week with the infections approach 7,000 or two-third of the country’s total caseload since early 2020. So far, Covid-19 has swept 39 …

/ June 9, 2021

Tourism businesses face risk of labour crisis

Photo: InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach According to statistics from Vietnam’s Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), the number of employees working in the tourism sector decreased by 90 per cent as of the latest pandemic outbreak. The reason for the serious decline is that travel, accommodation, and catering businesses have had to cut many employees over the past year. At the same time, the opportunity to create more jobs is also becoming more difficult as COVID-19 has halted almost all tourism activities. Research by TAB showed that 18 per cent of tourism businesses have had to lay off all their employees, and 52 per cent are maintaining operations with only 20-50 per cent of their former staff. In Ho Chi Minh City, in the first five months of the year, nearly 500 travel businesses (48 per cent) suspended their operations. In Hanoi, 378 out of 1,294 international and domestic travel enterprises have withdrawn their business licenses, with 90 per cent of employees (over 12,000 people) forced to quit their jobs. Meanwhile, 90 per cent of tourism companies in Danang have also conducted staff cuts, and 61.6 per cent of businesses have reduced the scale of operations, with about 12 per cent of businesses claiming that they can only hold out until the end of 2021. These statistics are expected to further exaggerate if the situation continues. Understandably, 80-90 per cent of tourists have decided to postpone or cancel their tours in May and June. At this time, the tourism industry is facing three major difficulties: the risk of bankruptcy, the overabundance of a large workforce, and the retaining high-quality workers until the pandemic is controlled. Common concerns As CEO of VietSense Travel – one of the few businesses still operating after the impacts of COVID-19 – Nguyen Van Tai admitted his firm may exhaust all its resources to maintain the current personnel if the pandemic continues for a long time. Tai said that his employees are all excellent …

/ June 12, 2021

Underprivileged province of Quang Tri wakes up to welcome development opportunities

As Quang Tri Province continues its recovery from the American War in Vietnam, it now looks to sustainable energy and ecotourism for new opportunities and revitalization. An emerging energy hub In 2021 alone, the province expects to add 15 wind energy projects for connection to the national electric grid. According to official data, the central province currently provides 377MW of renewable electricity. It now has plans to add 29 wind farms over the next several years, with an approved total capacity providing the country with 1,100MW of energy. Located in one of Vietnam’s most disaster-prone regions, Quang Tri’s long-term plans in the renewable energy sector could have a potential massive upside. In addition to the aforementioned projects, the province is also considering adding 52 other wind power projects to its portfolio and has plans to survey eight more. Should these projects all be realized, the province will be able to generate more than 4,400MW of electricity. Workers construct a wind turbine at a farm in Huong Hoa District, Quang Tri Province. Photo : Hoang Tuan / Tuoi Tre A wind farm in Huong Hoa District, Quang Tri Province from afar. Photo : Quoc Nam / Tuoi Tre Vo Van Hung, head of Quang Tri Province People’s Committee, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the locality has identified sustainable energy as one of three main pillars of its economic development plans. Quang Tri authorities plan to pull out all stops in order to implement wind energy projects in the western highlands and electrification projects in the Southeast Economic Zone as these two types of power impose few threats to the environment. “Several years ago, we had an orientation to develop coal-fired energy. EGATI, an investor from Thailand, negotiated and carried out investment procedures for Quang Tri 1 thermal power plant. “The project was also included in the national electricity development master plan. Things are different …