Catch the winter travel wave

Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, Director of Khanh Hoa Province Department of Tourism , said that in the last months of the year, Nha Trang City is considered an ideal winter vacation destination for the Russian, Chinese and Korean markets.

Find alternative sources

A representative of Anex Trading and Tourism Company Limited said that they had organized a famtrip with 200 guests from companies and travel agencies in Kazakhstan to survey Khanh Hoa tourism. After that, the company will increase to 5 flights/week from Kazakhstan to Cam Ranh to take guests on winter vacation.

Đón đầu làn sóng du lịch nghỉ đông - Ảnh 1.

Khanh Hoa expects to welcome 220,000 international visitors in October 2023

"We are preparing to welcome winter vacation guests from CIS countries (the Commonwealth of Independent States that separated from the Soviet Union) to replace the traditional Russian guests, but it is still not high. To restore Russian guests, we have applied to open a direct flight from Russia to Cam Ranh, but it has not been approved yet. In the near future, Anex will expand to welcome Polish market guests flying from the capital Warsaw to Cam Ranh. It is expected that there will be a flight every 10 days with about 520 guests in early 2024" - said a representative of Anex Vietnam Company.

According to the Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Tourism, although there are still many difficulties, the Chinese tourist market has improved. In addition to charter flights of Vietjet Air and Vietnam Airlines , recently, China Southern Airlines (China) has reopened the Guangzhou - Cam Ranh commercial route, increasing the frequency from 3 round trips/week to 1 round trip/day.

"In October, the total number of visitors served by tourist accommodation establishments in Khanh Hoa is estimated at 500,000, an increase of 198.9% over the same period in 2022. Of which, international visitors are estimated at 220,000, 6.1 times higher than the same period.

Travel agencies are also stepping up the exploitation of tourists from the East Asia region to make up for this shortage. Bamboo Airways is coordinating with partners to operate charter flights from Macau (China) to Cam Ranh with a frequency of 1 flight/day, and the Taipei (Taiwan, China) - Cam Ranh route with a frequency of 3 flights/week. HK Express Airlines (Hong Kong, China) also operates the Hong Kong - Cam Ranh route with a frequency of 1 flight/day from the beginning of September 2023.

"This creates conditions for travel agencies to exploit tours to bring Chinese tourists to Khanh Hoa, as well as bring people from Khanh Hoa and neighboring provinces to travel to China," said Ms. Do Thi Van Anh, Deputy Director of Khang Thai Vietnam Travel Company Limited (a unit specializing in exploiting the Chinese tourist market).

Korean guests are still the mainstay

Mr. Tran Minh Duc - Deputy Director of Long Phu Tourism Joint Stock Company, Chairman of Khanh Hoa Tourism Association - informed that the number of Korean tourists to Khanh Hoa is still stable. Images and information about Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa tourism appear continuously on Korean tourism websites and newspapers. Korean tourists now tend to travel individually and book rooms online because there are commercial flights to Nha Trang. Besides, other cities also have tours to Nha Trang in the form of charters. Mr. Duc's company is preparing stimulus packages and promotions for guests staying in the winter until before Lunar New Year.

According to Ms. Le Thi Hong Minh - General Director of Cam Ranh International Terminal Joint Stock Company, there are currently about 15 flights/day from Seoul, Busan, Gwangju to Cam Ranh. It is expected that from the beginning of November, Eastar Jet Airlines (Korea) will resume the Incheon - Cam Ranh route with a frequency of 4 flights/week. Some other airlines may also increase flights from Korea to Cam Ranh when entering the winter tourist season.

Ms. Le Thanh commented that traditional tourist markets such as China and Russia are recovering slower than expected, but in return, the province is exploiting the Korean and Kazakhstan tourist markets well. The Taiwanese and Southeast Asian tourist markets are also very promising. The provincial tourism industry is coordinating with airlines to promote the opening of flights from major cities in Japan, Australia and India to Khanh Hoa.

Ho Chi Minh City speeds up welcoming international visitors

In the first 9 months of 2023, Ho Chi Minh City tourism welcomed about 3.5 million international visitors and the goal for the whole year is to welcome about 5 million visitors.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, in addition to the US market, the tourism industry is focusing on promoting and attracting visitors from nearby markets including China, South Korea, Japan; and growing markets including Australia and India. Activities to promote Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City tourism abroad, focusing on tourism promotion programs in Singapore, the US, and Laos, have been and are being implemented. In the immediate future, the city's tourism industry will actively promote Vietnam's e-visa policy and coordinate with relevant agencies to promptly remove technical difficulties and problems (if any) for tourists in the process of applying for an e-visa.

"To facilitate travel agencies to welcome large international tourist groups to Vietnam, we recommend that the Immigration Department shorten the processing time for group visa applications from travel agencies (in person)," said the leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism.

T. Phuong