Tourism industry suffers due to power outages.

Travel trip cut short due to power outage.

Having just taken his family to Ha Long ( Quang Ninh ) for a vacation on June 4th, Mr. Nguyen Tien Toan, co-founder of Canh Dieu Travel Company, had an unforgettable experience when the start of a vibrant summer for the children coincided with a power outage.

Bai Chay tourist area (Ha Long) is deserted due to power outage (photo taken on June 12).

Working directly in the tourism industry, from the end of May to the beginning of June, Mr. Toan witnessed many tour groups demanding to cancel their trips and check out of hotels due to sudden power outages while traveling. Therefore, to prepare for his family's trip, he closely monitored the local power outage schedule and chose a 5-star hotel right in the city center to minimize risks.

"Even so, we couldn't escape it. My family had only checked in less than an hour when the power went out. The hotel is so big that the generator system only had enough power for the elevator and lighting. It was scorching hot, 38-39 degrees Celsius, and without air conditioning, it was unbearable, especially with elderly people and children in the house. The hotel manager said they were also caught off guard because the power company didn't give notice; there was no scheduled power outage that day, but the power went out unexpectedly, so they hadn't had time to hire an additional generator. They said they had worked with the power company and the power would be back on by the afternoon, but my family waited until evening and still had no air conditioning. Annoyed, I demanded to cancel the reservation and the trip," Mr. Toan recounted.

An additional 20 million kWh for the northern power grid.

As of yesterday, June 12th, many thermal power plants that had experienced malfunctions in the past few days have resumed operation. Specifically, Unit 4 of the Hai Phong thermal power plant, Mong Duong 1 thermal power plant, Son Dong thermal power plant, etc. Notably, the Thai Binh 2 thermal power plant with a capacity of 13 million kWh per day has been restarted, and the Nghi Son 1 thermal power plant is expected to be reconnected to the grid at 6 PM today, June 13th, with a capacity of 7 million kWh per day.

Thus, from today, June 13th, with the operation of just two units at Nghi Son 1 and Thai Binh 2 thermal power plants, the northern power grid will have an additional 20 million kWh per day. Recently, although the coal fuel supply for thermal power generation is sufficient, due to the need to continuously operate at high capacity, some units have experienced malfunctions. Of these, approximately 2,100 MW experienced long-term malfunctions, while about 550 MW experienced short-term malfunctions.

An update on the national power system's operation up to June 11th shows that daily consumption was 746.8 million kWh. Of this, the North accounted for approximately 388.6 million kWh, the Central region approximately 72 million kWh, and the South approximately 285.8 million kWh.

Nguyen Nga

Similarly, Ms. Tran Thi My Linh's family (from Son Tay town, Hanoi) took their son to Ninh Binh for his first birthday, but before they could even stay for a full day, they had to turn back. Regarding the reason, Ms. Linh recounted: "It was sweltering hot, and every place we stopped had a power outage. We had just arrived at the restaurant, and after less than 20 minutes, before all the dishes were even served, we had to move to the outdoor garden area because the power went out inside and there was no air conditioning. Sitting outside on the concrete garden floor in the scorching midday sun was unbearable. The little boy was sweating profusely and crying loudly. When we arrived at the hotel at 3 PM, the staff kept apologizing, saying we had to wait until evening for the power to come back on so they could turn on the air conditioning, and that we could only use a fan. It was much more comfortable at home."

Not only hotels, but many passengers traveling by plane at Cat Bi Airport (Hai Phong City) were also surprised to find many areas hot and stuffy. While the air conditioning in the waiting area was running normally, some restaurants had no air conditioning or fans. An employee at a restaurant at Cat Bi Airport said that due to energy saving measures, even the airport had reduced the number of electrical appliances.

According to information from the People's Committee of Van Don District (Quang Ninh), the number of visitors to the Minh Chau - Quan Lan tourist area has decreased by approximately 35%, to only about 12,700 tourists per week compared to the period before electricity consumption reductions. This number is predicted to continue to decrease in the following weeks if electricity reductions are prolonged. The intermittent and frequent power outages not only significantly reduce revenue from service activities but also negatively impact the local tourism image, driving down visitor numbers during the peak summer season.

Bai Chay tourist area (Ha Long) is deserted due to power outage (photo taken on June 12).

Businesses are facing difficulties due to rising costs.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Toan noted that summer is the peak season for domestic tourists, mainly families taking their children on summer vacations. However, this year the heat of the summer tourism season seems to be cooling down due to the difficult economic situation. People will prioritize nearby destinations that can be reached by car or private vehicle to save costs as airfares are becoming increasingly expensive. Therefore, tourists are very proactive in changing their itineraries.

If there's a power outage here, they're ready to cancel their reservation, change their destination, or even go abroad instead.

"My friends who work in hotels in Da Nang are complaining about low business and lack of work. Now, traveling from Hanoi to Thailand is cheaper than going to Da Nang or Phu Quoc. Not to mention the diverse range of food and hotel options there, which are cheaper than here, so why not fly over for a trip? And then there's the issue of unreliable electricity; if businesses don't invest in generators, they won't have customers. But investing increases costs, and all that money goes back to service fees. The tourism industry is already struggling, and it's being hit even harder," Mr. Toan expressed.

Airports are implementing energy saving measures.

The Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) has just issued a directive on strengthening the implementation of electricity saving measures at its offices, units, and airports.

Accordingly, ACV requires its agencies, units, and branch airports to urgently implement proactive measures to calculate and reduce electrical loads or select appropriate times to use generators during peak hours instead of grid power, thereby minimizing electricity costs. Simultaneously, plans must be in place to ensure absolute safety for flight operations when switching between grid and backup power sources. Airports are required to prioritize grid power for airfield equipment loads.

The cost burden that Mr. Toan mentioned above was specifically detailed by Mr. Thanh Luan (owner of a chain of restaurants in Ninh Binh) with a figure of 160 million VND per generator.

According to Mr. Luan, since the beginning of June, the number of tourists visiting Ninh Binh has been increasing. Tourists often arrive at lunchtime and frequently experience sudden power outages. While power outage schedules are sometimes announced in advance, they are often inaccurate, preventing restaurants from purchasing generators in time. Customers complain about the heat and want to leave quickly, so they order fewer dishes, resulting in a 25% decrease in restaurant revenue.

Mr. Luan considered investing in a larger generator, but the price was quite steep, up to 160 million VND per unit, not including operating and maintenance costs. "Since the pandemic, we've had more customers, but business is still sluggish and hasn't picked up yet, so investing in anything else now is difficult; it's a real challenge. Luckily, this time it's mostly Vietnamese customers, and they understand the general situation and are somewhat sympathetic. If there were constant power outages during the peak season for Western tourists, they would never dare to come back," Mr. Luan said.

Tourists were eating at a restaurant in the Bai Chay tourist area (Quang Ninh province) when the power went out (photo taken on June 3).

Tourism sector remains in difficulties despite prolonged waiting.

According to the People's Committee of Van Don District, during peak tourist season, the island communes in the area usually welcome 19,000 - 19,500 tourists per week. Therefore, the district has submitted a document requesting the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Industry and Trade, and the Quang Ninh Power Company to pay attention to and prioritize providing full-time electricity to the Minh Chau - Quan Lan provincial-level tourist area.

Immediately afterwards, the Standing Committee of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee had to agree to establish a Provincial Electricity Supply Steering Committee, directing priority electricity supply to key sectors, including tourism. As a result, the province's key tourist destinations were noticeably more vibrant over the past two weekends, with the center of Ha Long City receiving approximately 20% more visitors compared to the same period the previous week.

Appreciating the timely actions of Quang Ninh province, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietravel Corporation Nguyen Quoc Ky said that the approach of prioritizing and removing obstacles, treating tourism as a production industry rather than a consumption industry, and implementing appropriate policies like Quang Ninh should be replicated on a large scale in many localities and at the national level.

In the past, the tourism industry has repeatedly proposed to competent authorities the application of electricity prices for production to tourism accommodation establishments in order to create more favorable conditions for tourism activities. During the period when the tourism industry was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,

Close public-private cooperation is needed to address the electricity supply issue.

The Energy and Electricity Working Group of the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) has recently proposed solutions to the Government and relevant agencies to effectively address the electricity supply issue. According to the group, there is currently a supply gap of approximately 4.35 GW between electricity supply capacity and demand, particularly in the North. This year, increasingly severe weather conditions have made electricity supply more difficult during the dry season. The electricity shortage has profoundly affected private sector businesses, especially industrial customers, causing significant disruptions to production activities.

In the current context, the Working Group believes it is necessary to expedite the approval process for projects included in the revised Power Development Plan VII so that they can be quickly implemented. At the same time, it proposes that relevant authorities support companies and industries in deploying self-consumption, off-grid renewable energy solutions, such as battery storage systems. Furthermore, close dialogue and cooperation between the public and private sectors are essential to effectively address the electricity supply issue. In particular, the early issuance of policies for direct power purchase agreements and the development of off-grid solar power systems is crucial.

The government has agreed to implement a policy of reducing electricity prices and electricity bills (including reducing the retail price of electricity for businesses to the retail price of electricity for manufacturing industries) in four phases for tourist accommodation establishments.

However, this policy was temporarily suspended after the pandemic ended. In the recently issued Resolution 82, the Government also assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to lead and coordinate with other ministries, sectors, and localities to research and add the group of customers "tourism accommodation establishments" to apply the same retail electricity price as the retail electricity price for manufacturing customers. Changing the electricity pricing mechanism and maintaining a stable power supply are essential factors in supporting the recovery of the tourism industry.

"Perhaps in the current difficult period, the tourism industry cannot demand any more preferential or special policies. Since reopening after Covid-19, tourism has faced numerous challenges. The industry now only hopes that new visa policies and electricity pricing methods will be issued soon to alleviate difficulties to the best of its ability," said Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky.

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