The pandemic has been complicated by the appearance of a new coronavirus variant, with no certainty a vaccine would be distributed on a large scale this year, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong told press Monday.

Resumption of tourism activities would only occur when deemed safe, he stressed.

Vietnam suspended commercial international flights in late March last year to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

However, the country still allows a limited number of flights for experts, businesspeople, workers and overseas Vietnamese, who are all quarantined by up to 14 days upon arrival.

Phuong said authorities are struggling to contain illegal immigration as travel demand spikes ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, which falls in February this year.

Foreign arrivals last year fell nearly 79 percent to 3.84 million, according to the General Statistics Office.