Vietnamese travel companies with tours to Israel from now until the end of the year must postpone, stop or discuss with customers to change to other locations.
Nguyen Nhat Vu, CEO of Fit Tour International Travel Company in Ho Chi Minh City, said that the earthquake that shook Morocco in early September forced the company to postpone the tour scheduled for November 17. After many days of discussion and consultation, the group agreed to switch to the Jordan - Israel - Egypt tour, making Vu "extremely happy". But after 24 hours of "closing the deal", Vu received news that Hamas soldiers attacked Israel on the morning of October 7 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was "at war", launching a counterattack against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A group of Vietnamese tourists took a souvenir photo with a Jewish monk (in black shirt, standing in the middle) during a trip to Jerusalem earlier this year. Photo: Fit Tour
Vu said it was a "big headache" because from now until the end of the year, the company has 8 tour groups that will visit Israel, each tour has about 10-19 people and the price ranges from 80-130 million VND per person. These Middle East tours last 12-15 days and for 6 groups, he has issued plane tickets, completed visas and paid 50% of the money to the partner travel company in Israel. The most recent group departed on October 25.
Director of Viet Global Travel company in Hanoi, Hoang Phung Hieu, also said that the war in Israel caused his company to "suffer damage".
"We had just had a group meeting the day before to disseminate information to the guests, but the next day we received news of the war," said Mr. Hieu about the group of 20 guests planning to go to Israel on November 1. All airfares as well as 50% of the deposit for food and accommodation for guests at 4-5 star hotels in Israel had been paid, totaling billions of VND.
Deputy General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang said that her company has many trips to Israel from now until the end of the year, mostly large groups of guests and only go to Israel in the form of business combined with tourism.
"Those groups must be postponed and cannot be transferred to another route," said Ms. Hoang.
In 2022, Israel welcomed 2.6 million international visitors, including 2,300 Vietnamese visitors, according to Statista. When the war broke out, many tourists in Israel rushed to book flights home. Ben Gurion International Airport was packed with passengers eager to leave in a state of uncertainty. Many major airlines in the world immediately stopped or canceled flights to Israel. Foreign ministries in many countries around the world also issued warnings not to travel to Israel at this time to ensure safety, according to CNN .
For the past three days, Vu's phone has been busy as he has to call his partner company in Israel and answer customers about the tour situation. "We will have to remove all destinations in Israel from the itinerary to ensure the safety of tourists," Vu said.
Vu's customers are mainly between 40 and 55 years old, who like to travel to Middle Eastern countries like Israel to explore culture, history and pilgrimage. Therefore, they understand and sympathize with the sudden war. Most of them agree to continue their trip, accepting to skip Israel. The remaining customers reserve their tours to wait for the right time or choose other alternative destinations such as China and Japan.
Mr. Hieu's company is also facing a similar situation. He said he is working with relevant parties, including airlines, to refund or not charge extra fees if the flight date is postponed, in order to minimize damage to customers.
Vu said that when the war suddenly broke out, one of the things he worried about was the safety of his partners in Israel for the past seven years. "I hope the tour guides and staff of the travel company there are safe," Vu said.
Mr. Hieu believes that "Israel is still a place worth visiting once in your life". He has been to Israel 5 times since 2017 and is attracted by this country. Israel has a small population of nearly 10 million people, a small area (nearly 22,000 km2, ranked 150th in the world), and not many natural landscapes besides the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. But in return, this place has a rich culture and history. Life in the cities that Mr. Hieu visited before was assessed as "peaceful and modern".
"Come to Israel when the war ends. This country will definitely not disappoint you," said Mr. Hieu.
Phuong Anh
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