Typhoon No. 3 Yagi is the strongest storm to hit the East Sea in the past 30 years. After the storm, tourism activities in many northern provinces were almost paralyzed. Quang Ninh province in particular suffered serious damage due to natural disasters.
Sharing with Lao Dong, Ms. Tran Thanh Lan, 55 years old, a tour guide in Bai Chay ward, Ha Long city, said that this was the biggest storm she had ever seen hit Quang Ninh city. The big storm caused severe damage and needed a long time to recover.
“According to my observation, 90% of the glass doors of hotels and restaurants along the coast in Bai Chay were shattered. Large seafood restaurants around here such as Huong Da, Thuy Linh, Thuy Chung or King of Seafood were all damaged, with estimated damage of tens of billions of dong,” Ms. Lan shared.
In addition, the situation of tourist boats is not much better. “Ships with a capacity of 48 passengers cost about 2-6 billion VND, and those with a capacity of 99 passengers cost about 18-20 billion VND/ship, but now that they are so badly damaged, we don’t know when they will be repaired. After the storm, there were many boats lined up for repair, sometimes having to wait 1-2 months for their turn,” said Ms. Lan.
According to local people, most ship owners are facing many difficulties and hardships because not everyone has a strong enough economy to recover after the storm. Ships worth tens or hundreds of billions of dong all have part of their capital borrowed from banks.
Mr. Bui Tan Dieu - Sales Director of Bao Minh Radiant Ha Long Hotel (Quang Ninh) said that the hotel was severely affected by the storm, with estimated damage of nearly 10 billion VND. However, after 3 days of active repair, the facilities and surrounding landscape have been restored, ensuring minimum services.
Similarly, many restaurants and hotels in Quang Ninh have also recovered very quickly and announced that they will welcome guests again. Although they cannot reach 100% of the quality as before the storm, many restaurants still meet over 80% of the needs of tourists.
However, Ms. Bui Thanh Lan said, many tourists are still quite hesitant to travel to Quang Ninh at this time.
"Because the landscape was destroyed, many groups of tourists came but could not enjoy the beautiful scenery, and had to pay much higher food and entertainment costs than normal times," said this local tour guide.
At famous tourist spots, trees falling and being submerged in water completely change the landscape, making it difficult to immediately resume tourism.
“Da Trang Village, Thong Nhat Commune, Ha Long City is one of the places that has been isolated and flooded for a long time. I used to take guests there for a picnic in the forest, there are many beautiful tourist spots there but now they are all submerged in water,” said Ms. Lan.
Quang Ninh Province Department of Tourism reported that 11/12 districts, towns, and cities in the province have recognized tourist destinations that are ready to welcome visitors back after storm No. 3, as of September 13.
Currently, Quang Ninh is actively overcoming the consequences of storm No. 3 Yagi. Ha Long International Passenger Port and Tuan Chau have resumed operations immediately after the storm. Entertainment venues such as Quang Ninh Museum, Sun World Ha Long Park... are being repaired and cleaned to be able to welcome guests in October.
However, it may take a long time for Quang Ninh to return to its bustling tourist scene as before the storm.
