Vietnamese head abroad for holidays

Fuji Mount is one of many welknown destinations in Japan (Photo: luxetravelasia.com)

To lure tourists, tour organisers have introduced several new and interesting packages.

At the Ho Chi Minh City-based TST Tourist Company, all the tours to Japan and the Republic of Korea to enjoy cherry blossom and wisteria have been fully booked since the end of March.

The number of tourists buying these tours has doubled in comparison with the same period last year.

For those who booked tours to Thailand far in advance, the company offered 1 million VND (50 USD) discounts.

To meet increasing demand, the company also introduced tours to Australia, Hong Kong (China) and some Southeast Asian countries.

"Within two days, April 30 and May 1, we will have 50 groups travelling abroad. This incredible number is really a promising start for our summer target," a TST representative said.

At Vietrantour, the number of people buying tours for the holidays has increased to 3,000 people, 50 percent more than for the same period last year. Seventy percent of the tours were to other countries.

Tours were fully booked at Hanoi Redtours. This involved 4,000 overseas trips and 3,000 domestic ones.

Saigontourist has stopped accepting guests for tours to the United States, Australia, Europe and Japan as all have been fully booked. However, tours are still available to countries that have visa-free policies for Vietnamese passport holders, such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

So far, 12,000 people have purchased tours by Saigontourist for the holidays.

By April 9, most of Vietravel Company's guests picked tours to Europe, Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

To prepare for the holiday rush, Vietravel will increase the number of coaches for domestic tours and for some to neighbouring countries.

Vietrantour has introduced new packages which focus on environmentally responsible tourism. The tours include secluded beaches in Quy Nhon, Tuy Hoa or on Ly Son Island in Quang Ngai.

According to acting director of the Vietravel's Marketing Department, Tran Thi Viet Huong, her company offers special discounts of up to 3.6 million VND (160 USD) for some domestic tours.

"The tour price during this occasion has risen by only 10 percent compared to the normal price," she said.

Vietravel together with Sacombank are offering a hire purchase policy without interest for six to 12 months. Guests buying tours valued at 5 million VND (250 USD) or more can participate.

Source VNA