Link to stimulate tourism

The April 30 and May 1 holidays are the beginning of the summer tourist season and also the peak of domestic tourism. To prepare for this peak season, from the beginning of March, after the festival tourist season, travel agencies prepare stimulus tours for this occasion. At the VITM 2014 fair, a series of stimulus programs in association with airlines were launched.

The connection goes into substance

At the VITM 2014 fair, businesses from the three regions of North - Central - South signed a cooperation program to reduce prices and ensure service quality. Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, said: The demand stimulation alliance in Ho Chi Minh City was formed in 2009 and has been quite effective. In 2013, the demand stimulation alliance sold 35,000 airline tickets, an increase of 15%. The cooperation with airlines increased from 8 routes to 13 routes and brought about the effectiveness of attracting a large number of visitors. The cooperation is not only by air but also expanded to road and sea routes.

Tourists visit Tien River (Tien Giang).

In fact, travel agencies and hotels have linked together based on the needs of each party. However, this association is individual and when the number of visitors exceeds the service provision capacity, disputes often arise, typically "ripping off" and cheating customers. Mr. Vu The Binh, Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said: "That is the reason why the Vietnam Tourism Association organized the international tourism fair (VITM) with a socialized nature. This is an opportunity for travel agencies, airlines and service units to sit together, discuss and come up with the most reasonable promotional programs. This is a tourism market, where sellers and buyers meet, creating diverse associations. Representatives of travel agencies said that in a few days at the fair, they sold out all the products they had prepared for many months in advance, many reputable travel agencies, the number of tours sold increased by 60% compared to expectations.

“During VITM 2014, we launched 10,000 seats with many promotional tours and they were chosen by customers. This is also an opportunity to stimulate summer tourism,” said Mr. Nguyen Cao Son, representative of Vietnam Tourism.

The most significant part of the domestic stimulus program is the participation of aviation. Airlines such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air have directly sold about 15,000 air tickets; while businesses in the stimulus alliance have directly sold about 12,000 domestic and international tours to consumers. “VITM is a boost for summer tourism. Linking has become an inevitable trend in tourism, including links between businesses and between destinations... In fact, in the 2013 stimulus program, we did not have clear policy support for domestic businesses when electricity and water prices and sightseeing tickets all increased... Therefore, the link-up program to stimulate demand between businesses through the sponsorship of the Tourism Association has achieved remarkable results. The General Department of Tourism will provide maximum support in promotion and training of human resources,” said Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Tourism.

Service quality requirements

“As living standards improve, tourists also demand higher and higher quality services. That is why, after the price factor, people are interested in learning about departure conditions, hotel quality, means of transport, etc. That is also the reason why tourists look for companies with brands and experience in the tourism industry,” said Mr. Nguyen Tan Quyen, Deputy Director of Lien Bang Tourism Company.

Therefore, to ensure service quality, tourism agencies have had to make reservations from the beginning of the year. “We have booked flights, hotels, and vehicles from the beginning of the year to ensure that services and prices do not increase suddenly. Normally, services will increase during the peak season of April 30 and May 1 and in the summer when students start their school break. However, with the commitment of airlines, tour programs from Hanoi to resort cities such as Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc will not have prices that fluctuate compared to last year and demand is expected to increase by about 20% compared to before,” said Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan, head of the Northern stimulus alliance.

Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai, head of the domestic department of Hon Gai Tourism Company, said: "In addition to the cooperation with Vietnam Airlines, the company has cooperated with Vietjet Air to offer promotional tours departing weekly to beach and resort destinations with an average of 120 seats/week." Summer tourism is the peak season for domestic tourism and it is forecasted that this year when implementing the cooperation, prices will remain stable, with an expected growth rate of 15-20% compared to last year.

Tra Su cajuput forest (An Giang) is an attractive destination for tourists.

Besides domestic tours, international tours are also equally exciting. According to travel agencies, the most exciting tours are still routes to ASEAN, Northeast Asia, Hong Kong, etc. Notably, some tours to Dubai and Europe are also quite attractive during this time.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan admitted: Through the experience of the VITM 2014 fair, the stimulus alliance also guides tourists to choose the time to travel, avoiding peak periods. If tourists depart during the week, which is the low season, the price is reduced by 25% compared to normal.

Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said: “In addition to supporting the linkage to stimulate demand, the General Administration and key tourism localities will strengthen inspection and control to limit the situation of “overcharging”, recommend transparency for units that do well; and promptly handle service units that violate the law. For localities with developed tourism, provinces should soon establish tourist support centers by providing “hotline” phone numbers for tourists to promptly report to functional units to promptly resolve the issue. Thereby, localities will proactively rectify opportunistic business services, and strengthen service quality in a professional direction, creating a good tourism image for tourists.”

“To develop sustainable and stable tourism, we cannot do tourism in a short-term way. Therefore, the message of the stimulus program launched by the General Department of Tourism and the Vietnam Tourism Association in 2014 is to create attractive products for tourists through links between transport companies, airlines, travel agencies, and hotels. Businesses save costs, protect the environment, and care about the community with the message to everyone to think about tomorrow with responsible and sustainable tourism,” said Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong.

According to News