Hanoi Coming to the 2024 International Tourism Fair - VITM, Hai Ha, 30 years old, quickly "closed" two tickets to Korea in June instead of the original plan to go to Da Nang.
The round-trip airfare from Hanoi to Da Nang in mid-May was more than 4 million VND per person, and the bad weather made Hai Ha, who lives in Dong Da district, hesitant. She said that if she added the cost of food, sightseeing, transportation and hotel, the 5-day, 4-night trip to the Central region for the couple would cost at least 20 million VND.
On the afternoon of April 11, Ha went to VITM to "hunt" for cheap tours and "closed" two tours to Korea after a few minutes of consulting. Ha closed quickly because they were both flying Vietnam Airlines, the dates were close together, and the promotional price for the Korean tour was 12.5 million VND. "I will go to Da Nang another time, when domestic airfares are cheaper," she said.
Tourists listen to advice on choosing a tour at the International Tourism Fair on April 11. Photo: Phuong Anh
Also at the fair, Nguyen Nam Phong, 50, said he had bought two tickets to Thailand departing in early June at a promotional price of 7.5 million VND. "With this price, it will be difficult for me to find a domestic tour during the summer or April 30, traveling by plane," Mr. Phong said. If he wants to go to domestic destinations such as Nha Trang and Da Nang at a reasonable price, Mr. Phong will have to wait until September and October - when the peak tourist season is over.
Foreign tours are dominating domestic tours on the occasion of April 30 and this summer, according to many travel agencies at VITM. Head of outbound customer department Nguyen Lan Anh of Flamingo Redtours said that the number of customers buying foreign tours on the first day of sale at the fair accounted for 70%. Only about 30% of customers were interested in domestic tour products.
Ms. Lan Anh said the most purchased destinations are Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China besides the traditional tours of Thailand, Singapore - Malaysia. The above tours are attractive because of their good prices, with additional support from the General Department of Tourism of the countries, and companies applying promotional prices during the 4 days of the Fair. Currently, tours to Korea are sold at promotional prices from 12.5 million VND, 4-day tours to Japan are priced from 16.9 million VND or Taiwan is priced from 11.3 million VND, China is from 9.9 million VND. If tourists "hunt" for tours during the golden hours at 8pm every night, the tour price will even be reduced by 500,000 - 1 million VND.
A group of elderly tourists are looking at information about international tours such as Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Thailand at the International Tourism Fair on April 11. Photo: Phuong Anh
According to Ms. Lan Anh, international tour prices this year have barely increased compared to last year. Meanwhile, domestic tour prices have increased by nearly 80% due to double the price of air tickets, even though Vietnam Airlines has reduced tens of thousands of air tickets by up to 30% to support tour prices.
Vietluxtour Marketing and Communications Director Tran Thi Bao Thu said that this year also recorded a clear growth with China road tours. Some of the most popular and booked tours are those departing from Hanoi to Lao Cai border gate then passing through Ha Khau, Mong Tu, Binh Bien with prices starting from 5.8 million VND. The tour to Phoenix Ancient Town - Zhangjiajie costs from 7.5 million VND.
According to a survey by VnExpress , most domestic tourists travel independently or choose to travel nearby to avoid airfares. Hien Vu, in charge of sales of northern products of Thien Minh Group, said the two best-selling "items" at VITM are the 2-day-1-night Ha Long Bay cruise tour priced at over VND3 million (including 4 meals) and a hotel voucher priced at VND999,000. Ms. Vu said the two products are the most popular because they are convenient to travel. Guests choose to go on cruises because they can get to Ha Long by road. Hotels with facilities in Mai Chau, Hue and Hoi An are all destinations that can be reached by car or train.
Ms. Ha Anh, representative of Vietravel, said that domestic tours with flights such as Nha Trang - Ninh Thuan, Tuy Hoa - Quy Nhon, Phan Thiet - Mui Ne, Can Tho - Tay Ninh are also of interest to tourists because of their good stimulus prices, reduced by up to 40% even during the period when domestic ticket prices are high. However, in the first day of revenue of 10 billion VND of Vietravel at VITM, the ratio of domestic and international tours sold is 36% - 64%. The representative of this travel agency said that most of the customers are interested and have registered for destinations such as Dubai, China, Japan, Morocco - Spain - Portugal, Northern Europe and America because these are routes with ideal weather for summer travel.
While domestic and international tour prices are discounted by 40-45% and are bustling, airlines are stimulating demand more quietly. Most domestic and international airlines have low discounts, no more 0 VND tickets like previous years. Vietnam Airlines offers a 13% discount for individual customers. China Airlines offers a 15% discount and Vietravel Airlines offers a 5% discount for some fixed routes, mostly during the off-peak months. However, the number of customers is still quite large with long lines waiting for their turn.
Customers queued up to buy discounted tickets at an airline's booth at the International Tourism Fair on the afternoon of April 11. Photo: Phuong Anh
Vietnamese travel trends have also changed this year. Instead of booking close to the departure date like in previous years, this year many customers buy tours 2-3 months before the departure date. In addition to booking early to be able to buy cheap air tickets, customers book tours early to enjoy incentives and have more choices in terms of destination, price, and departure time. "If you book late, there won't be many options left," said Ms. Bao Thu.
This year, Vietnamese tourists also tend to look for new and unique experiences. Lijiang is a "hot" tour recently. Many tourists choose to experience the journey by train to combine sightseeing on the way, while in previous years, tourists chose direct flights. Tours to Mongolia, Singapore - Malaysia or Australia are no longer following the traditional route. Tourists are more interested in the experience of sleeping overnight on the steppe, living in a Ger tent in Mongolia or going to Singapore - Malaysia by 5-star cruise. If going to Australia, tourists no longer only go on the familiar Sydney - Melbourne route but also aim to experience enjoying nature on the islands of Tasmania and Perth.
After the epidemic, Vietnamese tourists also value safety and security on every trip.
Phuong Anh
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