These days, domestic tourists to Hoi An have increased again, especially on weekends after the third epidemic wave was basically controlled.

A row of closed shops on Tran Phu Street, Hoi An at the end of March 2021.

`Before the epidemic, the day to collect millions was normal because Western customers loved to buy these items as gifts because my store was also rated well on Tripadvisor. But now it is difficult to sell for a few hundred thousand,` said Ms. Ly, owner.

Having done business in the old town since 2013, she said that in advance she only hoped to sign a 2-3 year lease contract to avoid price increases. Even for beautiful locations, she had to sign a 5 year contract.

From now until she returns home, she said she is trying to sell goods and reduce the price of ties to only 50,000 VND each, which she used to sell to foreign customers for 6 USD, and some scarves are only 80,000 VND, 100,000 VND (

Ms. Ly, who has been doing business in Hoi An since 2013, is packing up her goods to prepare to return the premises.

The stalls selling souvenirs, suits, leather goods or even coffee around this store have also gradually closed since two epidemics and floods last year.

More than a dozen houses away from Ms. Ly’s booth, Sunday Boutique also reduced the price of all products by 50% to pay for space when she could no longer afford to pay 80 million VND per month.

As recorded by VnExpress on Sunday evening (March 28) – after a year when Vietnam did not welcome international tourists, more than 70 stores closed or are subleasing premises on Tran Phu Street and this number at

On Bach Dang Street, close to the banks of the Hoai River, there are only a few cafes and European food shops still open.

A corner of Nguyen Thai Hoc street is dark, with only a few shops open at 6pm on Sunday (March 28).

The current menu of a 2-story, luxurious restaurant that previously specialized in serving foreign guests sitting outside watching the sunset by the Hoai River is now reduced to 18 dishes, of which more than half are local dishes such as chicken rice and Cao Lau.

`The restaurant no longer imports expensive ingredients or beef to make steaks. European dishes only have simple dishes like pasta and hamburgers,` the waiter of this restaurant replied when customers wanted to order food to drink.

For hotels and homestays, the number of domestic tourists gradually returning to Hoi An has only helped improve the business situation on weekends.

However, this homestay is still luckier than the large-scale hotels nearby.

Lai, the only housekeeping staff left at Cozy Savvy, 14 of her colleagues have quit.

Lai – the only room attendant at the Cozy Savvy hotel, 1km from the old town, said she is the only person in this department still staying here.

Without having to pay for premises or staff salaries, Mr. Nhat Anh, a boatman on the Hoai River, also increasingly saw the clear impact of the epidemic.

Many boatmen like Mr. Anh used to work as farmers, but when Hoi An developed tourism, they switched to service work.

A hotel in Phan Dinh Phung, Hoi An did not have a single room with lights on on Sunday night.

According to data from the General Statistics Office, for the whole year of 2020, Quang Nam’s tourism revenue decreased by nearly 80% compared to 2019 and is one of the localities with the sharpest decline in the country.

Currently, the provincial leaders have implemented many solutions to stimulate tourism demand, including discussing and considering the option of welcoming international passengers by charter flights (flights with separate departure schedules, not