“Winning” the storm, Ha Long Bay welcomes thousands of tourists

Storm No. 3 (Yagi) caused severe damage to Quang Ninh province, including Ha Long Bay. However, with the spirit of "winning" the storm, the government, businesses and people made efforts to overcome the consequences, welcoming thousands of visitors back.

The central commercial area of Bai Chay was devastated after the storm.

Storm No. 3 made landfall in Quang Ninh province on September 7, causing heavy damage to the locality with 25 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries. The storm also caused 70% of urban trees to break or fall; 165 ships and watercraft to sink; more than 102,800 houses had their roofs blown off; 251 houses collapsed; nearly 5,000 houses were flooded; more than 2,600 aquaculture facilities were damaged; 7,500 hectares of rice were flooded; more than 500,000 poultry were killed or swept away; nearly 90,000 hectares of forest were damaged... Estimated damage was more than 23,700 billion VND.

Super typhoon swept through the tourist capital of Ha Long and left heavy damage.

The storm sank 26 sightseeing and accommodation ships in the Ha Long tourist fleet; hundreds of ships were partially or partially damaged, and are in dire need of timely support policies to help ship owners overcome difficult times, especially financial difficulties so that ship owners have capital to reinvest and restore business operations. Tourism service businesses such as the showroom, pearl farming and pearl farming experience of Ha Long Pearl Joint Stock Company; the Company's farm in Vong Vieng and Bo Hon Island on Ha Long Bay... were devastated by the storm, with estimated damage of up to 80% of total asset value. Not only Ha Long, businesses in the Bai Chay tourist center were also severely damaged. Signs were torn apart, many restaurants were almost destroyed. The bustling commercial center of Bai Chay was devastated after the storm. It is estimated that each business here suffered hundreds of millions of dong in damage. At Sunworld park, 3 cabins of the Sun Wheel were blown away by the storm, and the water park's slides were also broken by the storm.

The Provincial Military Command mobilized 260 officers and soldiers along with equipment and vehicles to coordinate with the Ha Long Bay Management Board to collect garbage on the sea surface and at the foot of the islands of Ha Long Bay.

However, with the spirit of self-reliance and taking advantage of every opportunity to recover, businesses and enterprises have conducted surveys and assessed the damage to have plans to repair and restore operations, quickly regaining the growth rate and tourism image of Bai Chay, Ha Long.

Immediately after the storm, Ha Long City launched a 7-day peak campaign across the city to clean up and handle all fallen trees on main roads, clean up the environment, ensure social security, and rescue. The most important task of the city at this time is to overcome the consequences of the storm so that people's lives and business activities can return to normal, so that Ha Long can regain its image as a Heritage City and a tourist city as soon as possible.

Next is the campaign “3 days to clean Ha Long Bay” taking place from September 15 to 17. Each day, there will be 35-50 vehicles, about 150-200 officers, employees, and soldiers of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, the Provincial Military Command, the Provincial Border Guard Command, Quang Ninh Park Greenery Joint Stock Company, and businesses operating tourism services on the bay mobilized to simultaneously participate in collecting and transporting garbage.

The Provincial Military Command alone mobilized 260 officers and soldiers from agencies and units under the Provincial Military Command, along with equipment and vehicles, to coordinate with the Ha Long Bay Management Board to collect garbage on the sea surface and at the foot of Ha Long Bay islands; and coordinated with the People's Committees of Ha Long City, Cam Pha, Quang Yen Town, and Van Don District to collect garbage in coastal areas of the bay.

The Provincial Military Command has mobilized 260 officers and soldiers along with equipment and vehicles to coordinate with the Ha Long Bay Management Board to collect garbage on the sea surface and at the foot of the islands of Ha Long Bay. At the same time, the Provincial Military Command requested the Naval Region 1 Command to direct Brigades 147, 169, 170 to each mobilize 50 officers and soldiers; and requested Division 363/PKKQ to direct Regiment 213 to mobilize 50 officers and soldiers to participate in the implementation. The joint efforts of officers and soldiers of the provincial armed forces and military units in the area aim to contribute to strengthening environmental protection and cleaning Ha Long Bay.

According to the Ha Long Bay Management Board, on September 8 and 9, the unit urgently mobilized forces to overcome the damage and check the conditions and facilities. From September 10, a number of tourist attractions in Ha Long Bay were ready to welcome and serve visitors, including route 1 (Thien Cung cave, Dau Go cave), route 2 (Ti Top island, Sung Sot cave, Luon cave, Trinh Nu cave).

Tourist groups visit Ha Long Bay from Ha Long International Passenger Port, September 13.

On the first day of welcoming visitors back after the super typhoon, Ha Long Bay welcomed nearly 4,000 visitors, mainly international visitors from countries such as China, South Korea... Visitors traveled from Hanoi to Ha Long early in the morning, according to a pre-arranged schedule.

Accordingly, at Tuan Chau International Passenger Port, there were 84 departures, with 2,310 tourists, of which 615 stayed in Ha Long Bay. At Ha Long International Passenger Port, on September 10, nearly 1,560 tourists boarded ships to visit Ha Long Bay and returned to shore the same day. Some tourism units operating in Ha Long Bay said they welcomed guests back on September 10, such as Grand Pioneers Cruises, Athena Cruise and Signature Cruise, and Ambassador Cruises.

Mr. Pham Van Hiep, Director of Ha Long International Passenger Port, said that immediately after the storm passed, the unit began repairing and reinforcing some items damaged by the storm and cleaning up fallen trees.

“As soon as the storm dissipated, we made every effort to inspect the facilities, machinery, equipment, and port systems. Up to now, piers 1 and 2 have been operating normally, ensuring safe operations. Many cruise ships have returned to anchor at the port after temporarily migrating to avoid the storm,” said Mr. Hiep.

In parallel with the opening to welcome guests, Ha Long International Passenger Port is still making efforts to overcome the remaining damage in order to prepare the best facilities to welcome the international tourist season visiting Ha Long Bay by ship starting next October.

Many hotels have joined hands to help people overcome the consequences of the storm, such as Oakwood Hotel (part of Sun Group) providing laundry services at the same price as ordinary people; committed to providing all types of bread at the original price, without profit, to help people stock up on food and overcome difficult times.

Or Wyndham Legend Ha Long Hotel also has a program to accompany people to overcome difficulties with a preferential room package of only 1.4 million VND/room/night for 2 adults and 2 children. The room includes breakfast for the whole family with electricity, water, wifi...

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/thang-bao-vinh-ha-long-don-hang-nghin-du-khach-20240916095311059.htm