Once busy tourist hotspot, Da Lat looks forlorn amid new Covid crisis

 With travel restrictions imposed amid the country’s most challenging Covid outbreak yet, once-crowded tourist town Da Lat now wears a deserted look.

Mountainous resort town Da Lat in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong is covered with fog at dawn. Once a summer hideout for French officials during the colonial period, Da Lat gained fame as a tourist hotspot thanks to its year-round cool climate, rarely found in a tropical country like Vietnam. Its tourism industry, however, is being hit hard due to the ongoing Covid wave that hit the country in late April.

A sanitation worker crosses a road in downtown Da Lat where all tourism services had been suspended following the worsening pandemic situation in the country. Lam Dong has recorded 28 infections.

A man drives past deserted Xuan Huong Lake, one of the town’s icons. The area around the lake used to be busy with a range of hotels, motels and food services.

Tourist boats and swan boat services lie at anchor at Tuyen Lam Lake tourist area, seven kilometers from downtown Da Lat. Since July 19, the town closed all tourist attractions and accommodation as a pandemic prevention measure.

Street vendors sit on a sidewalk corner in Hoa Binh area, known as the center of Da Lat, which attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Over 1,000 hotels and seven tourism areas in Da Lat have closed down as the resurgence of Covid-19 slashed travel demand. Authorities have closed non-essential businesses like bars, karaoke parlors and amusement parks and banned outdoor sports. People from areas under lockdown or social distancing campaigns must furnish Covid negative certificates and enter 14-day mandatory quarantine upon arrival in Da Lat.

Without customers, a GrabBike driver waits at a downtown street corner, which is typically busy at night.

February 3 Street in downtown Da Lat is virtually deserted, with all hotels and business establishments closed.

An unusually deserted scene at Da Lat night market in mid-July contrasts with the crowds that flocked to the area during the past Reunification holiday (April 30). Also known as Am Phu (Hell), the market on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street opens from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m, and sells food and drinks, clothing, souvenirs, and many other items.