Tourism workers get emotional welcoming foreign tourists back

 For many tourism workers, the reopening of international tourism and return of foreign tourists to Vietnam, reviving their vocation, has been an emotional, tearful experience.

Huynh Duy Hien, a 45-year-old tour guide who specialized in serving foreign tourists, switched to real estate trading after the Covid pandemic broke out and inbound tourism was suspended for almost two years.

About a fortnight ago, a British tourist messaged him via WhatsApp, reminding him to check his email because he wanted to book a tour to Vietnam after the country reopened international tourism on March 15.

"I was shocked and in tears as the British family of four confirmed they would book a tour to visit Vietnam starting March 22," Hien said.

"This was the first group of foreign tourists I'd received after nearly two years and I felt excited and happy though they were only a small group," he added.

After arriving in Vietnam, the British family started their two-day-one-night journey to visit Cai Be District in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, stayed overnight in Can Tho and dropped by the Cai Rang floating market before moving to Vinh Trang Pagoda.

A British family pose for a photo during their trip to the Mekong Delta, March 2022. Photo courtesy of Huynh Duy Hien

They said they'd visited Thailand before, but when they heard that Vietnam has reopened its border to foreign tourists, they decided to visit the country before flying to Singapore to work.

Their entrance was easy. The procedures including making medical declarations and checking PCR test results only took around 15 minutes.