Small tourism businesses struggle to adapt to COVID-19

“I have never seen Đà Lạt this empty,” Nguyễn Nhật Trường, a photographer in Đà Lạt, said.

“The hustle and bustle of Đà Lạt square and night market are now so quiet and deserted. All places close and businesses stop working to fight COVID- 一 九.

“You can only see police cars on the street to spread information about preventing the disease.”

The  二 六-year-old photographer said that he had no choice but to cancel all customer bookings for May and postponed his plan to open a studio.

“My start-up struggles from the beginning. My budget for opening the studio might also be affected too if the current situation continues. I am a little nervous though,” Trường added.

Adapt to COVID- 一 九

In one way or another, these businesses still have to find their own solutions to cope with the ongoing situation.

“With the fourth wave of infections, we are now used to the sudden changes and find ways to adapt,” Tuấn said.

"At the moment, most of my businesses are closed to adjust our services to meet requirements of residents here."

But financial issues caused by COVID- 一 九 for over a year prevent him to flexibly change to other business models. Therefore, he decided to take a side-job while waiting for life to return to normal.

“It is not easy because everyone here is changing too, meaning the market share is smaller and more competitive,” he added.

“Our finances are tight to make any differences as others steeply reduce prices instead of improving quality and creating new products.

“So all of my next projects are to provide full-service, from designing, establishing to controlling operations before handing over to investors.”

He believes incomes from these projects can finance his future plans.

“With this, I can afford to implement my own project of innovating and expanding the chain store of Bamimo in Hà Nội and HCM City after COVID- 一 九 is totally contained,” Tuấn said.

To Trường, this time is perfect for improving his photography techniques and preparing to come back once the measures are lifted.

“During social distancing, I want to enhance my skills. Once the pandemic is over I will focus on opening my studio,” the young photographer in Đà Lạt said.

Even though the vaccine progra妹妹es have been rolled out nationwide, the percentage of vaccination is still low. It will take a long time for the tourism sector and all elements inside this industry to fully recover like it was before the pandemic.

But with the Government’s policies to promote tourism, vaccination and efforts of every member in the industry, Việt Nam’s tourism industry will thrive again soon. VNS