Listen to Vietnam’s Insanely Catchy Coronavirus PSA

As the coronavirus continues to spread, governments are taking action in an attempt to keep their countries’ residents safe. Vietnam in particular seems to have nailed the awareness strategy by releasing a wildly catchy PSA promoting preventative measures such as hand-washing and sanitation, as highlighted on the latest episode of HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.

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Travel startup Triip rewards homebound travellers

Vietnamese sustainable travel company Triip has launched a new global Stay Home Heroes initiative that allows homebound travellers to earn points by staying at home which can then be used for future travels.

With a third of the global population on lockdown, the rewards programme supports broader government-led initiatives calling on citizens to stay at home and practise social distancing to protect public health.

From April 1, Triiip will reward users who use the startup’s Stay Home Heroes app feature to check in at their homes with a photo uploaded.

Payment will be made daily to homebound users with unique travel points, called TIIM. Users who check in at home will be offered 1 TIIM per day, which can then be used to redeem for later travels.

While sheltered, users can also earn TIIM by sharing Triip with their friends via a unique, personalised link; submitting photos of their past travels to the platform; and sharing their future travel plans within the app.

Triip said that it is making available 15 million points through the end of the lockdown orders to each of its users to incentivise them to stay home.

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Covid-19: Khiri Reach Helps Communities Across Southeast Asia

Khiri Reach, the charitable arm of Khiri Travel, has been active helping communities in Asia impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

Its focus has been on marginalized communities, many of them in long-standing relationships with Khiri Travel, such as local families, artisans or community based projects that were regularly visited by tours before lockdown.

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Domestic Travel Set to Kick-start Vietnam’s Tourism Recovery

Vietnam’s tourism industry has gotten an early start to recovery, with domestic demand set to spearhead growth, as the country becomes the first in South-east Asia to lift social distancing restrictions.

The lifting of social distancing restrictions was announced by the Vietnamese government on April 24, setting the stage for the return of domestic tourism. Restaurants in the country have started filling up again and some airlines are operating domestically. From April 23, VietJet started six daily flights connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Jeff Redl, managing director of Diethelm Travel Vietnam, said: “It’s a very positive signal. The demand seems to be quite strong as per information received from several hotels.”

Linh Le, principal and co-founder of Luxperia, said with restrictions lifted, many city dwellers had planned trips to the coast for the four-day holiday from April 30 to May 4. However, he noted that the cost of flights is significantly higher, making flying more of a luxury than previously.

Added Le: “Hotels are offering some good deals with added value, however, while domestic tourism will increase, its pre-pandemic high-performance shall be shortened this year. Savvy operators are to tap into local micro and niche markets to attain some recovery of business within domestic tourism.”

Michael Piro, CEO of Wink Hotels, said he is slowly starting to see a “modest” pickup in bookings. He added: “We believe the market will continue to show signs of improvement towards the end of the year.”

Piro predicts the recovery will initially be led by business travel, transitioning to leisure-driven travel through the summer months. To further stimulate domestic demand, he said discounts and promotions will be used to encourage locals to travel.

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