Northern tourism industry to recover before peak international season in October

While Cat Ba Island, located off the coast of Hai Phong, remains devastated following the damage caused by the storm, many other key tourism destinations like Hanoi and Quang Ninh have seen a quick turnaround, with streets cleared of fallen trees and other debris and repairs carried out.

In Quang Ninh, a major cleanup campaign has been initiated to restore UNESCO heritage site Ha Long Bay.

As of Sept. 13 nearly 5,200 four- and five-star hotel rooms and over 8,500 one- to three-star rooms in Ha Long were ready to take in visitors.

Tourist hotspots in the northern mountain such as Sa Pa and Ha Giang have also begun welcoming tourists again.

"This is a promising sign of recovery for the tourism sector in the northern region," Nguyen Huu Cuong, general director of Trang An Travel, said.

Though the typhoon disrupted the tourism supply chain in many northern mountainous provinces, recovery has been swift, he said.

Some tours to popular destinations like Hanoi and Ha Long have already resumed, and with the ongoing recovery efforts, tourism services in the north would be fully stable within one or two months, he said.

The peak tourism season lasts from October to April.

Pham Ha, CEO of cruise tour operator Lux Group, said his company's two cruise ships, Emperor Cruises Legacy Ha Long and Heritage Binh Chuan, sustained only minor damage and have resumed operations, and served six groups with nearly 100 guests each, mostly foreign tourists.

International tourists aboard a cruise ship in Ha Long Bay after typhoon Yagi. Photo courtesy of Lux Group

The company worked very hard to repair the ships, which are now almost fully booked until the end of this month.

On Sept. 17 the government instructed ministries to provide support to businesses and individuals in the tourism industry severely affected by the typhoon.

Yagi made landfall in the Quang Ninh–Hai Phong area on Sept. 7, with winds reaching 149 km per hour.

Most hotels and resorts in the area were left in ruins.