Vietnamese tourists opt for foreign tours due to lower costs compared to domestic tours. (Photo: VNA) The upcoming holiday season will give workers five consecutivedays off to celebrate the commemoration of the Hung Kings (April 29), NationalReunification Day (April 30), and International Labour Day (May 1).
Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, a resident of Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh district,said she and her friends decided to book a tour to Thailand instead oftravelling domestically as they had done in previous years.
“A tour to Thailand costs around 7 million VND per person. This isquite reasonable compared to domestic tours. Tourist destinations are lesscrowded, and we can buy goods at lower prices," she said.
Nguyen Huu Y Yen, CEO of Saigontourist, said the number ofcustomers booking outbound tours has increased sharply, accounting for nearly70% of the total number of customers during the upcoming holiday season.
The company estimates that it will serve more than 200 tours forabout 100,000 individuals and group customers.
This year, many customers have chosen long tours to Japan, Taiwan(China), the Republic of Korea, and Thailand. Most long tour routes departingto Australia, Japan, Europe, Canada, the US, and Cuba are fully booked.Only short-haul tours in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore, Brunei,Singapore-Malaysia, and Thailand, still have available slots.
“Most customers prefer outbound tours due to the higher cost ofdomestic flights compared to the package price of an outbound tour," Yensaid.
Tran The Dung, CEO of Vietluxtour, said the company has stoppedreceiving tourists to countries where visas are required while Tran PhuongLinh, Director of Marketing and Information Technology at BenThanh Tourist,said all tours to Japan, the RoK, Taiwan and Hong Kong are almost fully booked.
Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications and Marketing atTSTtourist, said the company has achieved its plan of 2,000 customers for thecoming holidays with usual tour routes to Thailand, Japan, and Europe.
It is expected that in June, the number of customers choosingoutbound tours may increase significantly as China reopens, he said.
Outbound tours on the rise
According to travel companies and tour operators, the high pricesof domestic air tickets have created barriers for domestic tours, resulting ina price difference between domestic and overseas options.
For example, if a customer chooses the route from HCM City to Da Nangon April 29 and returns on May 3, the lowest round-trip ticket price forVietjet, a low-cost airline, is over 4.4 million VND, including taxes and feesand that of Vietnam Airlines is around 8-9 million VND.
Currently, there are only business class seats left withprices double that of economy.
Domestic flight prices have increased by 40%. Meanwhile, tours toSoutheast Asia have increased by only 15%, and tours to China, Japan, and theRoK by no more than 20%.
"A 4-day-3-night trip to Phu Quoc on April 30 costs around 10million VND per person, while a tour to Thailand costs only 7 million VND,"said Man.
Nguyen Tran Hoang Phuong, Chairman of the Board of Directors ofGolden Smile Travel, said customers may spend around 10 million VND for a 4-5day trip. However, paying up to 8 million VND for a domestic airfare is notsuitable.
As a result, when airfare prices are too high, domestic tourismbecomes less competitive compared to international tourism. People will preferspending their money abroad, he added.
Hoang Thi My Anh, Deputy General Director of Hai Dang TravelCompany, said that not only are airfare prices rising, but service andhotel prices in some domestic destinations are also increasing forthe holiday.
This creates significant difficulties for tourism companies indeveloping domestic tours, especially during holidays when there are morecustomers, and destinations tend to increase prices, making it challenging forcompanies to keep up.
Sharp drop in domestic tours
According to travel companies and tour operators, domestic toursare struggling to attract tourists. Popular tourist destinations such as Da Nang,Nha Trang and Phu Quoc are waiting for visitors as domestic tours areexperiencing a slump. Many hotels and accommodations in these locations havebooking rates of 30-60%, which is much lower than in previous years during thepandemic.
Data from Mustgo, a travel platform with a network of 2,000 hotelsnationwide, shows that only Sa Pa has recorded a relatively high occupancy rateduring the upcoming holiday, while major tourist sites like Nha Trang, Da Nang,Quang Ninh, and Phu Quoc still have hotel room occupancy rates below 60%.
Le Trung Thuc, Director of Sunset Sanato Resort and Villas in PhuQuoc, said that their hotel's booking rate was only around 30%, much lower thanthe same period last year. The hotel is currently offering discounted roompackages to attract guests during the holiday.
Representatives from Alma Resort in Nha Trang said theirpre-booking rate for the holiday period has only reached about 60%, despiteoffering a 30% discount for guests who pay and book in advance.
Phuong from Golden Smile Travel said this year's domestic tourismmarket during the holiday period has witnessed changes in the travel habits ofpeople. Tourists are only buying plane and bus tickets rather than a completepackage.
However, the cost of plane tickets is much higher than usual,which affects the willingness of people to book domestic tours.
Tourism companies estimate that the cost of plane tickets accountsfor 40-60% of the total cost of a tour. As a result, the rising cost of airfareis not only a concern for the aviation industry but also has a severe impact ontourism companies.
My Anh from the Hai Dang Travel Company said tours that use airtravel during the holiday have increased by 60-80% compared to normal days,while tours that use transportation by car have also increased by 20-40%.
Vietnam reopened to tourism on March 15, 2022. During last year’sholidays, the tourism industry was still in the recovery phase with fewerinternational visitors, so airlines were focusing on exploiting the domesticmarket with favourable ticket prices.
However, in 2023, the aviation and tourism market is expected tofully recover with a higher number of international tourists than in 2019,pushing up operating costs, and leading to higher airfare prices compared tothe previous year to ensure operational efficiency.
In addition, fuel prices are continuing to rise, adding billionsof VND to airline operating costs. Therefore, airfare prices must increase inline with fuel prices to avoid losses.
Nguyen Thi Khanh, Chairwoman of the HCM City Tourism Association,said the high airfare prices will have a certain impact on domestic tourism,especially in places that rely entirely on air travel. Therefore, to stimulatedomestic tourism recovery, Khanh said it is time for the tourism and aviationindustry to negotiate and collaborate to create effective domestic tourismstimulus programmes and have reasonable pricing policies for domestic tourism./.
VNA
