Great opportunity for tourism

On April 18, Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company, said that although the April 30 and May 1 holidays were finalized late in the context of high airfare prices, the company still strives to launch tour products with reasonable prices to stimulate demand.

Good price tour avoid rush hour

Many travel companies have booked services in advance, and plane tickets are also booked 3-6 months or even a year in advance, so short-term fluctuations in ticket prices do not affect tour prices too much.

"Flights early in the morning or late in the afternoon at Vietravel Airlines, Vietnam Airlines , Vietjet... all have very good prices on the system. Airlines have flexible pricing policies, good prices if you buy far from holidays, buy in groups... so if customers choose to avoid peak hours, the price difference can be up to 50%" - Ms. Phuong Hoang said.

Du khách tham quan chùa Bà Thiên Hậu ở quận 5, TP HCM Ảnh: LAM GIANG — Tourists visit Thien Hau Pagoda in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: LAM GIANG

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said that many businesses expressed regret because if the 5-day holiday plan had been announced earlier, they would have been more proactive, especially in promoting during the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Festival.

"Although businesses always have 3, 4, 5-day tour products to serve domestic and international tourism needs and long-term products, if they have a plan in advance, businesses can market to customers earlier, thereby increasing the number of product registrations," said Ms. Anh Hoa.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications and Marketing of TSTtourist Travel Company, because the time to announce the number of holidays and tour departure dates is near, the company only has enough time to serve tourists with domestic tours, road tours and Southeast Asia tours. In return, customer demand will increase in individual services or independent travel, and destinations near Ho Chi Minh City such as Long Hai, Phuoc Hai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Phan Thiet will welcome a large number of visitors.

Train and car tours are popular

To meet the demand of customers expected to increase after the April 30 and May 1 holidays increased to 5 days, Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, Communications Director of Vietluxtour Travel Company, said that the company has increased foreign routes with suitable time and reasonable cost such as Thailand, Singapore - Malaysia, Taiwan (China)... The supply capacity of the tourism market is quite large, so there is no worry that businesses will be passive or lack products to serve the April 30 and May 1 holidays.

"During the long holiday, tourist demand will be evenly distributed across domestic and international tourist routes, so service routes will not be overloaded, especially domestic destinations," said Ms. Bao Thu.

Many other travel companies said that many customers have switched from air tours to road tours. Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra - Director of Communications and Marketing of Saigontourist Travel Service Company - said that for the first time, the company introduced a series of city tours in 18 provinces and cities with branches such as: Can Tho, Ben Tre, Buon Ma Thuot, Hue, Da Nang... Tourists can explore the city where they live in a close, practical way. These tours are also suitable for customers from far away who want to experience more about a specific destination.

Mr. Pham Quy Huy, Director of Kiwi Travel Company, emphasized that many people surveyed destinations in the inner city or within a radius of 200 km from Ho Chi Minh City, taking advantage of available personal vehicles. The company also increased tours by car, train or combined by plane and train... to reduce tour costs for customers and add to the experience.

According to Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Vietravel is also promoting train tours and has been positively received by customers. For many tourists, this is a new experience such as a tour combined with heritage destinations, learning about culture and cuisine of the Central region...

With the advantage of cars, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tan, General Director of Saco Travel Company, informed that he has just added about 100 more cars for the April 30 holiday and is currently full. Some tour routes to the Central Highlands such as Pleiku (Gia Lai) used to be by plane, but now the ticket prices have increased so customers have switched to traveling by car.

In this context, not only travel businesses but also destinations near Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi need to be proactive to meet the increasing demand for short-distance travel at the "last minute".

"Cool down" ticket prices with night flights

Vietnam Airlines said it will open additional sales for 2,000 flights after 9 p.m. every day on routes between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, etc. This move will help increase passenger options in the context of reduced supply due to the impact of aircraft engine recalls and recent increases in airfares. The airline also opens sales of many economy-class tickets (from VND1,724,000/trip or VND1,929,000/trip, including taxes and fees) for the journey between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City or economy-class tickets on routes between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, etc.

Vietjet said that during the Hung Kings' death anniversary holiday week, April 30 and May 1, the airline will add 86,000 seats, equivalent to over 450 flights, on tourist routes, increasing the frequency of flights to and from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang...