On the afternoon of March 23, around the central streets of Ho Chi Minh City such as Le Thanh Ton, Ly Tu Trong, Ben Thanh Market area... (District 1), many hotels hung banners advertising for sale or lease, waiting for transfer, temporarily suspending operations. At the discussion "Current situation and solutions in the business activities of small and medium-sized tourist accommodation establishments in Ho Chi Minh City" organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism on the same afternoon, businesses operating tourist accommodation establishments and hotels said that the situation is very difficult and need to be resolved soon.
Not many tourists return yet
According to a report by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, by the end of 2022, the city had 3,227 accommodation establishments of all types, equivalent to more than 65,000 rooms eligible for business. Of these, 325 hotels were ranked from 1 to 5 stars; 2,902 hotels met the minimum criteria for facilities and technical services.
Tourists register to stay at a hotel in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: HOANG TRIEU
Notably, compared to the end of 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic), the total number of 1-5 star accommodation establishments decreased from 1,342 establishments to 325 establishments. In addition to the reason that the 2017 Tourism Law took effect from January 1, 2018, tourist accommodation establishments voluntarily ranked stars, not required to be ranked as in the 2005 Tourism Law, the trend of decreasing the number of tourist accommodation establishments is also due to difficulties faced by businesses.
Many businesses have acknowledged that although tourists have returned, business has not improved. For example, District 1 has 308 tourist accommodation establishments, but a survey showed that about 20 accommodation establishments have closed, temporarily suspended operations or changed owners, returned premises, or changed business types...
Ms. Do Thi Anh Tuyet, Head of the Department of Culture and Information of District 1, affirmed that small and medium-sized hotels are facing many difficulties due to limited guest sources, especially international guests who are not as expected. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff of tourist accommodation establishments have changed their profession and have not returned to work. Currently, most tourist accommodation establishments are lacking in staff, especially experienced and highly qualified resources.
At the seminar, businesses operating tourist accommodation establishments and hotels recommended that departments and branches regularly open many training courses and professional development for workers to improve the quality of human resources.
Help accommodation services overcome difficulties
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Loan, representative of A25 Hotel (District 1), said that revenue is only enough to cover monthly expenses, the business is not profitable, and may face more difficulties in the future.
"Currently, the electricity price in the service business frame is the highest among the price frames, while the hotel business is facing many difficulties. I propose to reduce the electricity price frame for accommodation service businesses to the same level as the electricity price frame for production within 3 years. Enterprises hope to access preferential loans, receive support for debt extension to have conditions to upgrade facilities, and have costs to upgrade digital technology applications," said Ms. Loan.
Many other businesses also said that hotels and tourist accommodation facilities are seriously degraded but all costs have increased so they are not interested in spending money on investment and repairs. This also makes some criteria on accommodation service business conditions not meet the new regulations, especially regulations related to fire prevention and fighting.
To support businesses, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the People's Committee of District 1 and many districts in the city said they have been implementing solutions to help and overcome difficulties. Ms. Mai Thi Hong Hoa, Vice Chairwoman of the People's Committee of District 1, said that hotels also need to proactively find ways to overcome difficulties such as connecting with food and health care businesses, travel companies to have a continuous source of customers and diverse services to retain tourists and stimulate more spending.
Mr. Lu Quoc Dung, Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Information of District 10, said that the district has built typical tourism products; service establishments that meet standards for serving tourists; specialized areas, food streets and established a team to mobilize the construction and support establishments that meet standards for serving tourists.
"Recommend that Ho Chi Minh City Police consider solutions and propose solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles for accommodation establishments and tourism-related businesses regarding security, order, and fire prevention and fighting safety conditions," said Mr. Lu Quoc Dung.
Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said that in the near future, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee will have a dialogue with the tourism industry to listen to and resolve difficulties to support tourism's rapid recovery. Regarding the recommendations of businesses in the hotel and accommodation sector, issues under the authority of the department will be resolved immediately, and issues beyond the authority will be proposed to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for consideration and resolution.
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