Impacts of Covid-19 Pandemic on food service businesses in tourism: A case study in Can Tho city, Vietnam (This publication is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Alumni Grants Fund. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government)

Food and beverage business is an indispensable part and plays an important role in the business activities of the tourism industry. As a business field heavily dependent on the guest market, food and beverage business operations depend entirely on the needs of customers. In the complicated situation of the Covid-19 epidemic, this business sector is definitely affected. This study was conducted in order to reflect the impact of the epidemic on the food and beverage sector and propose solutions to restore the catering business, in the case of Can Tho city. Research data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey for 50 business representatives. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Research results show that the businesses suffered a sharp decline in the number of customers, restaurant usage capacity, and revenue. They actively implemented many activities to prevent the epidemic and limit the negative impact of the epidemic on business operations, as well as quickly recover business operations. In addition, a number of city-level state management agencies also took a number of measures to limit the spread of the disease in the tourism environment, support businesses to promote and advertise tourism, and lend them capital at a favorable interest rate.