Airfares increase, road tourism attracts visitors

Switch from air to road tour

Information from tourism businesses shows that the high price of airfares to the hottest tourist destinations during the summer travel season such as Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, etc. has caused many tourists to switch to using road tours or renting a car to travel. Ms. Ngo Thi Huyen Trang on Tran Huu Tuoc Street (Dong Da) shared that instead of planning to go to Nha Trang for a vacation in July, her family will drive themselves to Co To Island (Quang Ninh) because the cost is lower but they still enjoy high-quality services.

Tourists swimming in Nha Trang beach. Photo: Hoai Nam

“The estimated cost of a 4-day, 3-night trip to Co To, including travel, food, and accommodation, is about 3 - 3.5 million VND/person. A family of 4 would spend about 15 million VND. If we go to Nha Trang, that amount of money would only be enough for airfare, plus other expenses, about 40 million VND would be enough for the whole family,” Ms. Trang analyzed.

According to Marketing Director of BestPrice Travel Company Bui Thanh Tu, if tourists use the train to travel, they will go to Vinh or Quang Binh, Hue. If traveling by car, they will go to Ha Long (Quang Ninh), Cat Ba (Hai Phong), Moc Chau (Son La) ..., from Ho Chi Minh City, tourist destinations in the Southwest, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Phan Thiet ... are always attractive to road tourists. Currently, road tour products have affordable prices, ranging from 2.5-8 million VND/4-day-3-night tour.

To meet the people's travel needs, businesses have come up with many plans that suit customers' tastes as well as "avoid" the situation of too high airfares. Deputy Director of Vietravel Hanoi Branch Pham Van Bay informed that in order for this year's summer tourism products to suit customers' tastes, Vietravel is promoting the exploitation of domestic road routes, taking advantage of the highway, connecting Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City with neighboring localities.

Tourists visit the ancient capital of Hue. Photo: Hoai Nam

Similarly, Head of the Management and Membership Development Board, Hanoi Unesco Travel Club Nguyen Huu Cuong said that while in previous years, the Club's member businesses limited the exploitation of road group tours, this year they will focus on exploiting combo packages of road tours by car within a radius of 500km, lasting from 2 to 5 days, costing from 2.5 to 5 million VND/person/tour. Director of My Phuc Happy Travel predicts that Ha Long, Thanh Hoa, Cat Ba... will be attractive tourist destinations in the upcoming summer because they satisfy the criteria of traveling by road within a radius of 300km, and each individual only needs a budget of about 2 million VND to be able to travel.

Businesses increase promotions

According to calculations, the summer peak season accounts for 70% of the tourism industry's annual revenue, so to attract customers, many travel companies simultaneously organize promotional programs to stimulate demand.

According to information from Vietravel, to stimulate summer tourism in 2024, from now until July 31, the company will launch a new product line with attractive prices. In particular, it will also launch a preferential program with a refund of 1-3 million VND/person for customers who register and complete payment for the tour. In addition, it will launch incentives for groups and families with young children to stimulate tourism and help tourists optimize costs.

Tourists visit Co To Island (Quang Ninh). Photo: Hoai Nam

Similarly, General Director of Viet Tourism Media Joint Stock Company Pham Phuong Anh said that the company offers preferential prices for sea tours to Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Vung Tau... or to explore the North such as the sea and island tour from only 4,999 million VND/person; East - Northwest tour 8,999 million VND/person; Central heritage tour 6,999 million VND/person...

Not out of the race to stimulate summer tourism in 2024, Saigontourist Company offers a series of domestic tours with discounts of up to 50%. At the same time, Saigontourist also has preferential prices for customers who buy individual services or free & easy services (air tickets, high-speed train tickets, hotels, sightseeing tours...).

Recently, TST Tourist Company launched a vibrant summer "sale hunting" party program to introduce to tourists over 300 attractive domestic and international summer tours with 3 groups of economical, standard and high-end products to meet the diverse needs of tourists.

According to General Director of Flamingo Redtour Tourism Company Nguyen Cong Hoan, the company has launched a promotion program "Hello Summer - Huge Discount Deal" through which tourists who register to buy a tour will receive a discount of up to 4 million VND.

Tourists having fun on Nha Trang beach. Photo: Hoai Nam

In fact, not only travel agencies offer promotions, many accommodation establishments also aim to attract tourists with incentives. Director of Sales & Marketing of Vias Vung Tau Hotel Vu Thi Thanh Nhan said that this unit always has seasonal incentive programs. With the summer promotion package, Vias Hotel Vung Tau has a 15-30% discount package. In addition to room service, Vias Vung Tau Hotel also offers discounts on culinary and spa services.

Although businesses have launched many promotional and discount programs to stimulate tourism, according to Deputy Director of the National Tourism Administration Ha Van Sieu, to attract tourists, localities need to strengthen their links with travel and transportation businesses to build tours. "Linking and coordinating with each other in tourism is very important. For example, in the past, tourism in the Central region was affected by airfares, but the railway participated very well, bringing tourists to the Central region. Another important thing is the participation of localities in ensuring service quality, so there is no reason why they cannot attract tourists," said Mr. Sieu.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/gia-ve-may-bay-tang-cao-du-lich-duong-bo-hut-khach.html