From the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, forms of tourism such as green tourism, on-site tourism, etc., especially self-sufficient travel in small groups, have become a popular new experience trend. Accordingly, many travel service providers are forced to change their business strategies to approach this influx of tourists.
Ben En National Park - a favorite destination for groups of friends and family.
The family of Ms. Le Thi Phuong Thao (Thanh Hoa City) and a group of friends have just had an experience trip to Ben En National Park (Nhu Thanh) during the holiday on April 30. Ms. Thao said: Ben En National Park is not a new destination, but it is a green destination and has added many new experience activities, suitable for members, so people have chosen to come here in the summer. vacation. Currently, information about destinations and travel services on social networks is almost complete, so the trip is very convenient. Moreover, not depending on tour programs helps the whole group to be comfortable in terms of time.
In fact, during the peak holiday season of April 30 and May 4, Ben En National Park recorded a record number of visitors, with about 1 visitors. However, the group of solo travelers, traveling with groups of friends and family accounts for the majority. Mr. Le Cong Cuong, Director of Ben En National Park Management Board, said: “In recent times, especially during the holidays of April 5 and May 3, the number of self-sufficient tourists has increased. However, due to limited human resources and facilities, the means of transporting passengers to the island are limited, so we can only meet about 30% of tourists coming here. The fact that guests go in odd groups, do not book tours or reserve food and sightseeing services in advance also cause difficulties and passiveness in service work, causing overload, on peak days.
Talking about self-sufficient tourism, Ms. Bui Anh Tuyet, Deputy Head of Lam Kinh Relic Management Board, said: "Visitors now tend to prefer short-term travel, traveling in groups of 20 or more people. down. Specifically, from 2022 to now, this line of visitors will increase from 30 to 50% of the total number of visitors to Lam Kinh.
This fact is not only happening in a few tourist areas and attractions in Thanh Hoa province but has become a trend in other localities in the country. Some travel businesses shared that their position and role have been reduced since the trend of self-sufficient travel and group travel took the throne. Package tour products, which are the mainstay of tour operators, are expected to need to change in the near future.
According to tourism experts, one of the reasons for the increase in solo travel is the initiative of guests to adapt to new circumstances. Especially the development of information technology, travel applications and social networks. Facing this situation, many travel agencies have quickly innovated their methods of approaching customers, designing combo packages of airline tickets, hotels or opening air ticketing and hotel booking services to support tourists. . Or strengthen search, survey, launch new product sets suitable for the market to attract tourists to book tours.
“The tourism trend of tourists in recent years has changed the business strategy of the service industry, including travel. To flexibly adapt, we have increased our search, survey, and launched new product sets suitable for retail customers, thereby adjusting tours and routes accordingly, and directing tourism products. associated with experience activities, enhancing local cultural values, catching up with digital transformation, moving to a closer product ecosystem and interacting on social networking platforms…” – Deputy Director of the Company Le Gia Trade and Tourism Joint Stock Company (Thanh Hoa City) Duong Thi Ha, said.
Not out of the trend, more and more tourism businesses in Thanh Hoa province have deployed to build communication channels with customers in a close and effective way thanks to the application of technology. Specifically, for travel agencies, most businesses have promoted the introduction and provision of tours and online services on social networking platforms; Accommodation facilities outside the traditional customer "file" have deployed to digitize information and data for customer care and management, and at the same time participate in OTA (Online Travel Agent) sales channels. ) – online travel agency, room supply system such as: Agoda.com, Booking.com, Traveloka.com… These are the product introduction channels with the richest form and content, plus the development Online payment declaration, high successful transaction rate, suitable for retail customers, applied by many businesses.
However, in addition to the conveniences, self-sufficient travel in groups of tourists will have some shortcomings that tourists should note: when living freely on the journey, visitors will not be guaranteed safety. safety, security and quality of the trip; not familiar with terrain, weather or other information about the destination, may encounter difficulties, obstacles, even face dangers on the journey, or overcrowding or overcrowding; choose substandard services, poor quality, inflated prices, pressured prices ...
Therefore, for the trip to be truly meaningful, many experts recommend that even if you go alone, with friends or family, you need to plan carefully. The basic itinerary usually includes information about the destination, time, means of transportation, accommodation, places to play, eat, etc. Visitors can also find out information about the destination through mobile applications. Travel support, review on social networks, travel blogger, or consult information from reputable travel agencies...
Post and photo: Hoai Anh
