• The annual Vietnam International Travel Mart 2021 set for May with around 450 exhibitors from Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Taiwan and 40 cities and provinces in Vietnam.

• The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has proposed the Ministry of Transport consider the gradual reopening of regular international commercial routes in three stages in the remaining part of this year.

• Visit Vietnam Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The annual Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2021 will take place in Hanoi from May 5 to 8 with the theme “New Normal – New Opportunities”, a press conference in the capital on April 5 heard, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

As of March 31, around 450 exhibitors from 40 cities and provinces in Vietnam and four regional countries – Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Taiwan (China) – had registered to set up some 350 booths at the trade fair, according to the Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA).

The gathering will provide an opportunity for the tourism industry to boost travel demand and for participating travel businesses and localities nationwide to promote their products and tourist attractions.

Speaking at the press conference, VITA Vice President Vu The Binh said COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on the global economy, with tourism being among the hardest-hit.

The pandemic caused losses of some 20 billion USD in Vietnam’s tourism sector last year, he said, adding that this year’s theme is to demonstrate that the industry is facing the pandemic in a more proactive manner to overcome the difficulties and rebound.

Two seminars on tourism workforce in the “new normal” and golf tourism will be held on the sidelines of the fair.

Prior to VITM, a national domestic travel forum will be organised by VITA in the northern province of Ninh Binh, host of the National Tourism Year 2021, on April 14 and 15, where attendees will discuss the importance of the domestic market in reviving tourism as well as measures to boost domestic travel.

On April 20, Ninh Binh will also host the launch ceremony of the Visit Vietnam Year 2021, themed “Hoa Lu – Thousand-year Ancient Capital”, according to Vietnam News Agency.

Last week, Vietjet Air already resumed commercial flights to Northeast, Southeast Asia. Air tickets are now available on the carrier’s website. Flights from HCMC to Thailand’s Bangkok will depart every Friday, while there will be 13 flights connecting Hanoi and Japan’s Tokyo this month, with the first scheduled to take off on April 6, the airline said in a press release.

Related: It’s official: Vietnam resumes international commercial flights, tickets now available

The budget carrier will operate one flight from Hanoi to Taiwan’s Taipei City on April 11 and another from the capital city to its South Korean counterpart, Seoul on April 15.

Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Airlines will also restarted direct US flight plan.

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