SGGP
Students across the country are starting their summer vacation, which is also the time when the tourism industry is busy preparing tours and adding new destinations to serve them.
 |
| The number of tourists to Binh Thuan increased sharply after the opening of the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressways. Photo: NGUYEN TIEN |
“Attracting” customers thanks to… highways
More than half a month after the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet expressway was put into operation, Nguyen Luong's family organized a weekend vacation in the "resort capital" of Mui Ne (Binh Thuan province). Although the route is not yet completed, the driving time from District 7 (HCMC) to Mui Ne is only 2 hours and 30 minutes. "I was surprised at how short the time is, it's almost the same as going to Vung Tau beach. From now on, when talking about going to the beach, I don't just think about Vung Tau," Luong confided.
Last weekend, at famous tourist destinations in Binh Thuan province, we witnessed a dense crowd of 4-seat, 7-seat, and 50-seat cars with HCMC license plates. An employee at Tien Dat Mui Ne Hotel (Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City) said that since the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Expressway opened to traffic, tourists from everywhere, especially HCMC, have been coming in large numbers. Previously, it took 5 hours to travel by road from HCMC to Phan Thiet and had to stay overnight. Now, because the travel time is short, there are groups of tourists who go out in the morning to stroll, slide on sand, swim in the sea, eat seafood at noon, and then return to HCMC in the afternoon. At the Poshanu Cham Tower relic site, it was already 11am but there were still many visitors, with cars parked tightly under the path leading to the tower. A security guard said that since the expressway opened to traffic, the number of tourists coming here has increased dramatically.
According to statistics from the Binh Thuan Provincial Tourism Association, the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet expressway opened to traffic on the occasion of the April 30 and May 1 holidays, contributing to bringing about 160,000 visitors to the province's tourism industry, double that of the same period in 2022. A representative of Little Muine Cottages resort (Mui Ne ward, Phan Thiet city) informed that in the past 2 weeks, the number of guests staying was very large. Currently, on weekends, tourists coming to Binh Thuan are as crowded as on holidays, accommodation facilities in Phan Thiet city all have room occupancy rates of 90% - 100%, something that has never happened in previous years...
TST Tourist representative said that currently, the trend of traveling independently in small groups (6-8 people) by self-driving cars, booking individual services from travel agencies is quite popular... To catch up with this new trend, businesses will add experiential activities, or extend the time for guests to have fun and sightsee. Besides the changes in infrastructure, the renewed domestic tours are also quite popular.
Not only Binh Thuan, after the Phan Thiet - Vinh Hao expressway was officially opened to traffic, travel agencies also recorded an increase in the number of customers booking tours to Khanh Hoa, many families and groups have also planned to organize their own vacations in Nha Trang, Cam Ranh... this summer.
Exciting foreign tours
Besides domestic tourism, international tours are also very popular. After consulting the prices of many domestic and international tours, Ms. Thuy Mai (living in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) decided to choose a 4-day tour to Korea in mid-June for less than 15 million VND/person. Another friend of Ms. Mai chose a tour departing from Ho Chi Minh City to Phoenix Ancient Town - Zhangjiajie (China) for 6 days and 5 nights, also at the same price. According to Ms. Thuy Mai, during the peak summer season, domestic airfares to entertainment destinations are unpredictable and quite high; meanwhile, with similar costs, tourists have many options for international tours.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietravel Holdings, analyzed: “The actual price that tourists are currently paying is 2-3 times higher than if they were sold at the correct price. In countries like Thailand, Korea, China, etc., because of the smooth coordination of inter-sectoral agencies, tour prices are very low.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Marketing Director of Vietravel Tourism Company, said that customers buying summer tours are interested in products to avoid the heat and cool down, so the destinations that are chosen the most are those with cool climates. After implementing the "Summer Promotion" program, Vietravel Tourism Company received about 17,600 tour registrations... Many travel agencies also expect that with attractive destinations and reasonable promotion programs, it will create a vibrant summer tourist season, the tourism industry will contribute to economic recovery. However, businesses and units need to improve service quality, lower prices, connect, create competitive advantages to not only serve domestic customers but also strongly attract international customers, reducing the "bleeding" of foreign currency due to people choosing tours... abroad.
Korea promotes welcoming Vietnamese guests
The Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam has just coordinated with the Incheon City Tourism Promotion Bureau (Korea) to promote Incheon tourism in Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. Baig Hyeon, Director of the Incheon City Tourism Bureau, said that Vietnam and Korea are continuing to exchange on tourism, culture, arts, economy and trade. Before the pandemic in 2019, the number of two-way tourists between Vietnam and Korea reached 4.85 million, of which 4.3 million were Korean tourists to Vietnam. Currently, Korea ranks second in the market share of Vietnam's tourism market, because the two countries have many direct flights, connecting major cities of Korea to Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, etc.
Source
Comment (0)