Deserted beaches. Hotels with only 5 to 10% of rooms filled. The tourism picture in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province is forecast to be even gloomier due to the unpredicted developments of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism firms are in urgent need of local government assistance. Given the rapid spread of COVID-19 in over 160 countries worldwide, foreign tourists are dropping. Instead, the local tourism sector is pinning its hopes  on domestic travelers. In response to the pandemic, travel firms have been striving to cut costs and asking their staff to take more non-paid leave. However in the long run, experts suggest travel firms and local governments join hands to promote the province as a safe destination, while coming up with effective measures to boost tourism growth once the disease is cleared./.