Title: Reviving Travel: the recovery of Vietnam’s tourism industry following strict Covid-19 policies
Topic: For the past decade, Vietnam has experienced impressive growth as a tourist destination. However, with the outbreak of covid-19, the country instituted some of the most effective, albeit strict, policies to contain the spread of the virus. Though this kept cases down, it also led to extensive restrictions on trade, which was a massive blow to the national tourism industry. Now, with covid-19 restrictions lifted, tourism in Vietnam has a chance to return to, if not surpass, pre-pandemic levels. We will be analyzing the impact of Vietnam’s governmental policies surrounding covid, both for the individual industry and the national economy as a whole. We will then examine the measures that the country has put in place in 2022-2023 in an attempt to restore the prosperity of the tourism industry and economy pre-covid, and how they impact the future of the industry.
Analysis
Class concepts
Vietnam is essentially split between capitalism (individualism) and communism (collectivism)
The economy is essentially capitalist, but the government is still in many ways communist
The Doi Moi policies moved its economy out of communism, but not its government
Spurred the intense growth of the tourism industry and economy as a whole
The more communist nature of the government allowed for a more efficient and coordinated Covid effort
It also allowed the government to impose more strict restrictions on businesses without much opportunity for opposition
Sometimes benefitted other businesses which were more crucial → the government supported them
Comparative analysis
Changes in the tourism industries of countries with more lax policies when it comes to Covid (USA) → did they have it better or worse than Vietnam’s industry ? Why ?
How does Vietnam’s tourism industry as a whole compare to those of other countries ?
‘Emerging’ → still seen as a relatively ‘new’ or ‘hip’ place to travel
H-O theory (?) → has unique history, nature, etc that appeal to tourists
Cheap, due to its status as a developing country → once again appeals to younger travelers and people just traveling on a budget
Winners and losers
Winners : the ‘majority’ of Vietnam’s economy, as seen by the growth even during the worst year of the pandemic, perhaps the government, the average citizens, healthcare industry
Controlled the spread effectively, no crisis or shortage of medical supplies like in the US
Losers : the tourism industry, both as a result of the pandemic itself but also as a result of the policies of the government
Didn’t even give them a chance to earn profit by cutting off all international travelers
Interactions with primary sources of tourists
How can Vietnam incentivize people from these locations to come back ?
Economic agreements
ASEAN tourism → prosperity of the region will bring prosperity to all
Easy travel between the nations → could be a potential advertising point to make a trip out of the region
Paper Structure:
Analysis of market/issue/policy
INCLUDE SUBSECTIONS
Should be your own, interpretive work
Apply class concepts
Historical analysis
Comparative analysis
Other countries
Compare to the less-strict policy of the US
Other regions
Other industries
Other products
Winners and losers of the policy; government revenue estimation
Winners
Public health infrastructure
Health of the citizens
Economy as a whole → grew even during 2020
Losers
Those that rely on international movement/travel
Cost & benefit/pros & cons analysis
Maybe like benefit the majority at the cost of the minority ??
Challenges, implementation, etc
Conclusions, recommendations, general assessment/remarks (about 1 page)
Bibliography, appendices
Appendices are OPTIONAL
Reference:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/215955
https://www.jstor.org/stable/30173023?searchText=&searchUri=&ab_segments=&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ab3cadccb26e3409819d1f44f299aeb84&seq=2
https://vn.usembassy.gov/vietnamese-government-suspends-entry-to-all-foreigners-as-of-march-22-2020/
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/asia-pacific/reimagining-tourism-how-vietnam-can-accelerate-travel-recovery
https://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=802155863&Country=Vietnam&topic=Economy&subtopic=Forecast&subsubtopic=External+sector&oid=952147078
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/places/2019-a-year-of-new-highs-for-vietnam-tourism-4034961.html