Improving the quality of service was also very important to leave a deep impression on visitors and make them feel that Viet Nam is a truly attractive destination.

The number of visitors from Cambodia was reported to be the highest increase of 147.2 per cent, followed by mainland China with a surge of 115 per cent. Visitors from Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia also rose sharply between 22 per cent and 37 per cent.

Foreign tourists from Japan, France and Malaysia also rose significantly between 12 and 15 per cent.

The ministry’s statistics showed that most foreign tourists arrived by air or road.

The ministry attributed the increase to the recovery of the world’s economy, especially in Asian countries, which are traditional markets to Viet Nam’s tourism industry.

The implementation of promotional campaigns and the organisation of attractive festivals also contributed to the surge, the ministry said.

This year, the country has targeted to attract 4.5-4.6 million foreign tourists and 27-28 million local visitors for a revenue of VND75-78 trillion (US$4.2-4.3 billion), according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

It said that this year the tourism sector would gain further ground as Viet Nam undertakes the ASEAN chairmanship and organises the celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi.

To meet the targets, Vu The Binh, head of the National Administration of Tourism’s Travel Department, said that the industry would implement discounts and promotional programmes to combine tourism with trade.

Improving the quality of service was also very important to leave a deep impression on visitors and make them feel that Viet Nam is a truly attractive destination, Binh said.

The number of locals booking trips to Europe, Asia and Japan for the upcoming holidays of the Liberation Day and Labour Day that fall on 30 April and 1 May has increased significantly, according to tour operators.

Representatives of the Viet Nam Tourist Company’s Ha Noi branch said they had received 1,000 bookings, 400 of which were international.

Vietravel Ha Noi had roughly 1,200 tours booked, up roughly 400 over the same period last year, said Duong Mai Lan, head of the company’s research development division.

Lan attributed the attraction of outbound tours to the fare discount programmes run by foreign airlines and the shopping tastes of local tourists.

The two companies said that so far they had not received bookings for Hong Kong-Disneyland-Macau tours and were preparing to stop taking bookings for tours to Cambodia and Malaysia-Singapore due to high demand.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

The carrier operates four flights per week on the HCM City-Shanghai route and three flights per week on the Ha Noi-Shanghai route with Airbus A321 planes.

Vietnam Airlines launched the first direct flight routes linking Shanghai with both HCM City and Ha Noi on Sunday.

The direct flight would make great contribution to promotion on trading, investment and tourism between Viet Nam and Shanghai, the airline said.

With the services, the carrier hoped that it could lure passengers from areas near Shanghai to Viet Nam and then to the Indochina region, vice versa it also would transport passengers from the EU, Australia, Southeast Asia to Viet Nam and then to Shanghai.

It is the fourth Chinese city that Vietnam Airlines offers flight to after Beijing, Kunming and Guangzhou.

On the same day, Vietnam Airlines also opened the first flight on the HCM City-Can Tho City-Phu Quoc Island route with five flights per week on the ATR72 planes.

“Travelling demand on this route has increased sharply over the past years. The services on this route will help ignite the development of the tourism market in Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta,” it reported.

Can Tho City attracts foreign visitors with eco-tourism features of a floating market on the river, fruit gardens and bird gardens as well as historical places. Whereas, Phu Quoc Island is well-known with a beautiful beach, Phu Quoc National Park among others.

Earlier this quarter, the carrier opened two international routes; including Ha Noi-Osaka (Japan) and Ha Noi-Yangon (Myanmar).

Vietnam Airlines has actively prepared for its plan to officially join the global airline alliance Skyteam in June this year, marking a significant milestone for its development to the world-class standard.

On the occasion, the carrier offers a discount airfare with departure times from April 1 to June 10, with return ticket from HCM City/Ha Noi – to Shanghai priced at VND5.72 million (US$299) (exclusive taxes and airport fees). It also discounts the airfare with return ticket at VND304.000 ($16) on the HCM City-Can Tho-Phu Quoc route with departure times from April 28 to May 30.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Vietnam Airlines launched its first air route from Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong delta city of Can Tho and Phu Quoc island on March 28 at the Can Tho international airport.

Vietnam Airlines will offer passengers five flights a week, on every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, using the ATR-72 plane.

The new route will help create favourable conditions for trade promotion and meet the travelling demand of the Mekong delta’s residents.

It will also shorten the flight distance between the Mekong delta region and other domestic and international regions.

On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam and the new route opening, Vietnam Airlines offers passengers with a discount price of VND 304,000 (US$ 18) for each route from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho, Can Tho to Phu Quoc and vice versa from March 28 to May 30.

VietNamNet/Nhan Dan

Because International Women’s Day is next Monday, a working day, the tour operator is arranging one and two-day tours suitable during this weekend or on Monday.

Tourists walk on the beach to the lighthouse at Khe Ga Cape.

There is a day-tour to Can Gio District and another to the Mekong Delta’s Tien Giang Province. The trip to Can Gio is VND353,000 per tourist and VND403,000 per foreigner and takes in the Can Gio Mangrove Forest, HCMC’s green lungs, to explore the wildlife including crocodiles and monkeys. The tour operator will arrange boats to take tourist through the canals of the forest and take them to visit the former Rung Sac Military Zone before hitting the beach, a pagoda and Can Gio Market.

The tour to Tien Giang’s My Tho is VND341,000 per tourist and VND396,000 per foreigner. Tourists will visit the old Vinh Trang Pagoda in My Tho, float on canoes to visit islets, fruit gardens and trade villages, have lunch and enjoy don ca tai tu (a kind of traditional Southern music) before returning to HCMC in the afternoon.

The trip from HCMC to Vinh Long Province includes an excursion on the Tien River to visit the Cai Be Floating Market and trade villages, a walk on An Binh Islet and biking through fruit gardens. The tour is VND363,000 per tourist and VND418,000 per foreigner.

The trip to Phan Thiet takes in attractions like Ta Cu Mountain, the sand hills, the Poshanu Towers and the Lau Ong Hoang site. Lau Ong Hoang consists of a community of hills, mountain, river, sea and pagoda creating an area of beautiful sights. The tour is VND1.3 million per tourist and VND1.5 million per foreigner.

The two-day HCMC-Chau Doc-Long Xuyen-An Giang tour covers the major pagodas of An Giang Province to pray for health and happiness and includes the 32-meter-high statue of Mitreya Buddha at Cam Mountain with its peaceful surrounding rivers. The price is VND938,000 per local and VND1.138 million per foreigner.

The two-day HCMC-Vinh Long-Can Tho tour covers Vinh Sang Farm in Vinh Long Province with activities like fishing, ostrich riding, sightseeing in Can Tho City at night and the Cai Rang Floating Market the next morning. This tour is VND1.13 million per local and VND1.33 million per foreigner.

VietNamNet/SGT

Several southern firms have announced a 35-40 percent tour fee decrease. A five day tour of central Vietnam (Da Nang – Hoi An – My Son – Ba Na – Hue – Phong Nha) is offered at 3.67 million dong per traveler.  A four day itinerary (Da Nang – Hoi An – Ba Na – Hue – Phong Nha) will sell for 3.16 million dong.  Pagoda and temple buffs can opt for a six day Hanoi – Ha Long – Trang An – Bai DInh Pagoda – Sa Pa tour costing 5.84 million dong or a four day Hanoi – Ha Long – Trang An- Bai Dinh Pagoda tour costing 4.32 million dong.

Northern travel firms have said they would match the southern companies’ discounts.  According to Nguyen Cong Hoan of Hanoi Redtour, details will soon be made public.

The problem is for the tour operators is that they don’t know what hotels will do in response to higher electricity and water prices.  Air fares have risen too.  Thus Hoan said that despite the discounting, tour fees overall are fifteen percent above 2009 levels.

Airfare is the largest component in the cost of a tour.  Vietnam Airlines and other  carriers have been granted permission to raise ticket prices to just over two million dong for Hanoi-HCM City flights.  Some experts believe that this should be seen as good news, for it allows air carriers to charge a range of fares.  It appears that carriers intend to continue deep discounting (up to 50 percent) on many flights.

Round trip tickets between Saigon-Hanoi , Saigon- VInh or Hanoi-Da Lat are now quoted at 1.8 million dong. The promotional round trip fare from Buon Me Thuot to Can Tho has been slashed to 1.8 million dong – still 400,000 dong more than last year.

The sharp competition in Vietnam’s domestic travel market reflects tour operators’ perception that Vietnamese travelers ‘rescued’ the tourism industry in 2009 when international arrivals dropped dramatically due to the global financial crisis.

Vietnam received only 3.8 million foreign travelers last year, 400,000 less than in  2008.  At the same time, the number of domestic travelers rose twenty percent to 25 million.  Vu The Binh, Director of the Travel Department at the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said the net result of these fluctuations was an increase in industry revenues of nearly ten percent.

Ha Yen

Source:Vietnamnet

Vietnam Airlines aircraft in Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, where the carrier will launch Myanmar service on March 2, 2010 (Photo: SGGP)

The national carrier said it would fly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, taking off in Hanoi at 4:10 pm, arriving in Yangon at 6:10 pm and leaving Yangon at 7:10 pm.

Vietnam Airlines is offering a promotional airfare of VND4.62 US$250 for the Hanoi-Yangon direction for ticket issued from Feb. 2 to March 31, traveling in March.

The corporation has ambitious plans to becoming a major carrier in Southeast Asia. It considers Myanmar a regional potential market.

Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and China’s Yunnan Province are in the Mekong Greater Sub-region.

VietNamNet/SGGP

AirAsia aircraft at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi (Photo: VNE)

AirAsia’s Vietnam representative office sent out a statement Thursday saying that the new carrier will be called VietJet AirAsia.

AirAsia said in a statement late Wednesday from Kuala Lumpur that the Ministry of Transportation of Vietnam approved the share acquisition on Tuesday, February 9. It did not reveal how much it paid for the acquisition.

The new carrier will be operating both domestic and international flights, AirAsia said. It is currently finalizing details regarding routes, frequencies and launch of flights.

The formation of the new airline makes Vietnam AirAsia’s fourth country base, following Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

AirAsia said it joined the venture to expand its reach in Vietnam and open the country as another gateway in the ASEAN region.

It added the joint venture “will be tapping be tapping the expertise of both AirAsia and VietJet Air for the successful operation and marketing of low-cost flights.”

Subject to regulatory approval, the venture is expected to start operations either in April or June this year.

VietJet Air was licensed to operate in December 2007 as a partnership of SOVICO Holdings (an established corporation with interests in banking and finance, real estate, plantation and power plants), T&C Group and Ho Chi Minh City Housing Development Bank, or HDBank.

However, VietJet Air has not launched its flights due to fuel price fluctuations and the global economic downturn that began late 2008.

Vietnam has so far approved three private airlines namely VietJet Air, Indochina Airlines and Mekong Aviation. Indochina Airlines stopped flights in November last year due to losses. Mekong Aviation had plans to start operations this year on domestic routes but no developments have been seen so far.

Meanwhile, there are no signs of when the national carrier – Vietnam Airlines – would launch low-cost services.

VietNamNet/SGGP

Travel firms have confirmed that despite the economic downturn and high prices, Vietnamese people are still planning to travel abroad this Tet in large numbers. In fact, the number of travelers who have booked tours is 25-30 percent higher than the same period of the last year.

Traditionally Vietnamese people do not leave their homes on the first day of the Lunar Year because it is a time to stay indoors and worship their ancestors. However, times are changing.

Mai Anh from Ben Thanh Tourism said that there have been cultural changes in the way people are celebrating Tet.

Instead of enjoying traditional foods and parties – a lot of families nowadays prefer traveling together instead and take their celebration overseas.

According to Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy director of Hanoi Redtour, the many tours have been booked up for months.

Neighboring destinations, such as South East Asia, China, Hong Kong and South Korea, remain the top choice of the majority of Vietnamese travelers.

Saigontourist reports that it has 10,000 customers booking both domestic and outbound tours for Tet holidays. These include 4,000 traveling abroad, an increase of 31 percent over the same period of the last year.

Saigontourist says it has 97 percent of seats of outbound tours and 95 percent of domestic tours sold.

Airfare up, tour fee up

According to Tran Long, general director of Viet Travel, airfares for popular tours to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand has increased by 35-45 percent over ordinary days, which has led to a higher tour fee.

Hoan of Hanoi Redtour said that airfares for traveling to Thailand have increased to $120 and then further to $160, while usual prices are $80.

The airfares to Hong Kong and Singapore have also seen similar increases. For example, the airfare for Hanoi-Hong Kong flight, which is normally between $120-140 has risen to $180 dollar, while the airfare to Singapore has increased by $40.

As the result, Mai Anh of Ben Thanh Tourism said, travel firms have had to raise tour fees. Travelers to Thailand will have to pay $420-430 for the trip at Tet, while the normal fee is just $260-270.

Air tickets for Hanoi-Macau flight on February 13, or the day just before the New Lunar New Year, have also run out.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is scheduled to receive 16 Airbus A321 aircraft in 2010 to expand its fleet of 58 planes.

The corporation has transported about 9.3 million passengers this year, including more than six million on domestic routes, increasing by 16% on the year before.

The airline plans to open new routes to Northeast Asia next year.

The carrier’s current fleet includes Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Vietnam Airlines also plans to expand the fleet to 104 planes by 2015 and raise that number to 150 by 2020.

Also in 2010, Vietnam Airlines will join SkyTeam, a global airline alliance with eleven members and three associate carriers.

Source:vietnamnet.vn

Vo Huy Cuong, head of the administration’s Aviation Transport Department, said that although the administration had warned that it would revoke Indochina’s license if the airline couldn’t resume service by January 1, Indochina has made efforts to maintain its operation.

Cuong said Indochina reported its situation to the administration on December 31 and requested approval to restart flights in mid-January. The proposal was being considered, he said.

Indochina, which opened in November 2008, has postponed its plan to resume flights several times since suspending its service November last year due to both technical and financial problems. Before the suspension, it was using only one airplane on the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route, having closed all other services since the middle of this year.

In a report published by local news website VietNamNet on Friday, Indochina Managing Director Le Hong Pho said the carrier had reached agreements with its service providers concerning its debts, reported to have reached more than VND30 billion (US$1.6 million) last year.

The carrier plans to rent two Boeing airplanes to resume both Hanoi-HCMC and HCMC-Da Nang routes for the upcoming high season before Tet, or the Lunar New Year, he said.

Source:vietnamnet.vn