Vietnam is showing the world how to handle a pandemic, and their local casino industry is reaping the benefits. The aptly named Corona Resort and Casino, located on Phu Quoc island, has announced their grand reopening on their official website, welcoming customers back on May 8 after a month of clsure.
A Vietnamese language announcement, prominently noting that the Corona casino welcomes locals, hailed the relaunch of the location. Not even two years old, the casino is being reborn from this pandemic with new incentive programs to bring back visitors, including discounts on breakfast and transportation at its hotel and restaurants, and 40% off for their Safari.
Although the announcement makes no mention of what safety precautions will be taken, the Vietnamese government has laid out guidelines to keep visitors safe.
Vietnam has been a role model for keeping the spread of infections low, although it has used fairly authoritarian means to accomplish that goal. In total, the country has seen 288 infections, although 241 of those have recovered, accounting for a total of 47 current infections.
To get to numbers that low, strict isolation has been implemented for anyone suspected of having caught the virus. A total of 14,000 remain in forced isolation at the moment, with 6,000 of that number being kept in isolation camps.
No news yet on whether Donaco has reopened their Vietnamese casino. On April 21, that casino operator confirmed their resort in Lao Cai would remain closed atleast until April 22. While the continued drop in current COVID-19 cases would suggest they too should be free to reopen, they have made no announcements that they have.
Even though incentives and a flattened curve should be great signals that Vietnam’s casino industry is ready to get going again, it may be difficult to bring in tourists from abroad. Macau continues to struggle with reduced visitors, suggesting Chinese travelers aren’t ready to come yet, and not many countries are doing as well as Vietnam with their number of infections. Unless locals swarm to the Corona Resort, it may be a while before it gets revenues coming in again.
