The Norwegian tour guide JP Klovstad is very happy to hear Vietnam’s announcement of opening the country’s borders to foreign tourists after being closed for two years.
60-year-old JP Klovstad works as a tour guide for the Danish travel company Albatros Travel, and in an interview with VnExpress International he says:
“Many in Norway and the rest of the world are ready to travel. It will be great for hotels and restaurants in Vietnam to get tourists back.”
Albatros Travel specializes in bringing Nordic tourists to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries and JP Klovstad explains that he has been awaiting this moment for a really long time after having struggled due to the lack of tourists.
“The hardest thing is not having an income and not knowing when I will be able to work next. Also, I had to find a way to be able to get around a bit without using too much money,” he says.
Although Vietnam is following other Southeast Asian countries in the reopening, JP Klovstad is still having to stay cautiously optimistic, he says
“I am afraid we must wait until September or October before the group of tourists come back for the peak travel season,” he says.
“As soon as I am told a group is on its way, I am ready to go, Hanoi to Saigon, Bangkok to Saigon, or any other tour I am asked to run,” he adds.
“I get a lot of comments online from my former guests asking when Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries will reopen their borders and when I can run my tours again. So, for sure, people in Norway are ready to go on tour again,” he notes.
