On June 2020, Danang_Fantasticty had an Instagram livestream hosted by the leading wedding planner from India – Vivaah Markers which is followed by nearly 18.000 wedding agents and couples in India. The livestream lasted for 25 minutes and attracted around 500 live audiences and over 6.300 views after 24 hours. Earlier, introductionary video of Da Nang has been posted on the official Instagram of Vivaah_Markers.
At the livestream, Danang_Fantasticty has updated Indian wedding planners the circumstances of COVID-19 in Vietnam and Da Nang, the “New Normal” as well as the huge potentials of Da Nang as a wedding-destination-to-be of Indian couples.
Vivaah Markers: Namaste from India, may you inform what the Lockdown scenario is in your country?
Danang_Fantasticty: Namaste from Da Nang, Vietnam. Till 2nd of June, Vietnam goes through 46 days without community infections. There is no single coronavirus-related death while the total number of confirmed cases is lower than 330. Impressively, the recovery rate of COVID-19 in Vietnam is 85%. People might think Vietnam’s official numbers may seem too good to be true but the numbers matched the reality.
After a three-week nationwide lockdown, Vietnam lifted social distancing in late April. As of now, businesses and schools have reopened, and life is gradually returning to normal.
There is a combination of factors why Vietnam could buck the global trend in tackling the global pandemic. That lies in the government’s swift, early actions to prevent its spread, to rigorous contact-tracing and quarantining and effective public communication. We were not only waiting for guidelines from WHO. We used the data we gathered and decide to take action early.
On February 1, Vietnam declared a national epidemic — with just six confirmed cases recorded across the country. All flights between Vietnam and China were halted, followed by the suspension of visas to Chinese citizens the next day.
Over the course of the month, the travel restrictions, arrival quarantines and visa suspensions expanded as the coronavirus spread beyond China to countries like South Korea, Iran and Italy. Vietnam eventually suspended entry to all foreigners in late March.
Authorities rigorously traced down the contacts of confirmed coronavirus patients and placed them in a mandatory two-week quarantine. All direct contacts were placed in government quarantine in health centers, hotels or military camps. Some indirect contacts were ordered to self isolate at home.
From the very first day, the Vietnamese government has communicated clearly with the public about the outbreak. Dedicated websites, telephone hotlines and phone apps were set up to update the public on the latest situations of the outbreak and medical advisories. The ministry of health also regularly sent out reminders to citizens via SMS messages.
In late February, the health ministry released a catchy music video based on a Vietnamese pop hit to teach people how to properly wash their hands and other hygiene measures during the outbreak. Known as the “hand-washing song,” it immediately went viral, so far attracting more than 48 million views on YouTube.
With those efficient actions, Vietnam has stopped the spread of the virus, well protect its people and take good care of foreign patients also.
Vivaah Markers: What do u think shall be the “New Normal” considering current conditions?
Danang_Fantasticity: Since late April, the lockdown order was lifted in Vietnam. Still, it is a must to keep the situation under control, especially in major cities like Ha Noi, HCM City and international hub like Da Nang.
Businesses are back to operation. Students returns school. Online services are utilized the most within this unprecedented time.
The airlines in Vietnam has brought back their domestic flight routes. At first, the airlines still need to carry out physical distancing on board but now, they can operate in full capacities. Of course, the measures to prevent the pandemic are remained, such as hand wash, thermal check, wear masks and medical declaration.
In Da Nang, the primary tourist attractions and hotels resume their services. Similar to airlines or other businesses, to prevent the epidemic, visitors are told to frequently wash hands with soap or other disinfectants, wear masks when going out and maintain a reasonable distance in making contact with others, not to gather in large crowds in public places or outside workplaces, schools or hospitals.
Within the “New Normal” circumstances, we must stop all sources of infection, prevent the second waves and sustain socio-economic development. This is also the valuable chance to change the business mindset, the procedure and shape new development.
For tourism in Da Nang and Vietnam, after a month of new normal, both public and private sectors are making great efforts to boost domestic tourism. Vietnam Tourism Board has released the program “Vietnam people travel Vietnam” in which encourages Vietnamese people to travel domestically. Simultaneously, tourism businesses have offered huge incentives and promotions. So this is great time for local people to travel.
Vivaah Markers: Does Indian weddings greatly contribute to wedding tourism for your country? How shall you deal with the same?
Danang_Fantasticity: We are optimistic of the contribution of Indian wedding inbounds to Vietnam in general and Da Nang tourism in specific. India wedding tourism is a huge market. Report from KPMG shows that the Indian destination wedding industry is expected to reach a market size of 450 billion rupees with a projected annual growth of 25-30%.
Vietnam in general and Da Nang in particular are still brand-new destinations for weddings from India. Having said that, within the last few years, we have been honored to host weddings from India, ranging from luxurious weddings for celebrities to the unique and low-budget weddings for other segments from India.
First it was Phu Quoc Island (Rushang Shah and his bride Kaabia Grewal), now it is Da Nang that is emerging as an exotic location for rich Indians’ weddings.
November last year, Da Nang is where an Indian business couple tie the knots.
Those are first and precious experiences for us to host upcoming weddings from India in the years to come.
We are thankful for Vivaah Markets and Wedtease as a few of the pioneers to connect us with Indian couples who dream of tropical weddings in Da Nang, Vietnam.
Vivaah Markers: How smooth would the functionalities be for the hosting destinations to welcome guests from the larger affected countries?
Danang_Fantasticity: Till now, Vietnam government has not released any official news regarding the reopening of borders as the vaccine is still not available and there is a need to maintain the measures against COVID-19. We are still highly cautious of the imported cases and the risk of second waves that could further disrupt the economy and society.
Once Vietnam is ready for inbound tourism and right after Indians could travel again, we are more than welcomed to boost wedding tourism from your end. For smooth and efficient procedure, the Indian wedding planners can closely collaborate with local suppliers/vendors.
Vivaah Markers: Lastly, as our series is named, the Overall Impact on Wedding Tourism?
Danang_Fantasticity: India has just expanded to Da Nang and Vietnam recently. As the pandemic happened, all wedding events from India or any other markets has been postponed or cancelled at least till the end of this year.
Even so, we believe this is the time to strengthen the networking between wedding planners and local vendors. That would let the former to further understand what Da Nang could offer as an ideal wedding destination; meanwhile, the local vendors would acknowledge the needs and wants of Indian couples and make their wedding dreams come true.
We believe Vietnam and Da Nang would be a trendy and exotic wedding destination for Indian newlyweds. It would not be right now but very soon right after we could travel again.
We truly hope that this brief introduction has left you with an appealing impression of Da Nang and we look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful city in the near future.
Thank you. Dhanyavaad
Vivaah Markers: Thank you very much for your time and We wish to see you soon in Da Nang.
To rewatch the livestream, please follow the official Instagram account of Da Nang Toursim Board @Danang_Fantasticty.
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