Airline ticket prices are forecast to be difficult to cool down in the context of the aviation industry lacking aircraft. To cope, tourism businesses are turning around and redirecting products and services, linking means of transportation from cars, trains to planes.
Promotion "reverse" to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi
Mr. Pham Quy Huy, Director of Kiwi Travel Company, said he had just checked the air ticket price system between Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi in early June 6, the ticket price was still very high, about 2024 million VND. contract/round trip. With this airfare price, domestic tour prices are difficult to reduce to stimulate domestic demand during the summer.
Businesses have shifted to developing road and waterway tours in the context of rising air ticket prices. Photo: LAM GIANG
Even at the present time, it is the low season for domestic tourism, air ticket prices also remain high and it is difficult to have stimulus discounts for travel businesses and passengers like before. Therefore, businesses are changing direction. Instead of previously promoting tourism and promoting links between Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces and cities, now we are doing the opposite, finding every way to attract tourists to the city.
“We have just launched a product to stimulate tourism in Ho Chi Minh City by double-decker bus or city tour river bus (city tour) to typical destinations with prices from 2 VND/person, instead of the full tour price. Regular package up to 299.000 VND/guest. City tour programs can be combined with medical tourism, culinary tourism or 799.000-2 day tour products to explore Can Gio, Cu Chi, connecting with Tay Ninh... Directions for visitors to Ho Chi Minh City will be different. First, reduce the cost of high airfares and add more choices" - Mr. Pham Quy Huy said.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, analyzed that domestic tourism is facing competition from price, product quality, and services. To cope with rising airfare prices, businesses are turning around to build new tour routes in the direction of increasing high-quality car tours for short distances; Combining travel by plane, train, car...
“Many businesses are flexible by promoting short-haul tours from Ho Chi Minh City to destinations in the Southeast region such as Tay Ninh or the Mekong Delta provinces, to Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, and Phu Yen. Along with cars, the tour also combines train travel, plane travel or vice versa, both adding choice and reducing tour costs for guests. The Association is coordinating with localities such as Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Dong Nai... to build more attractive road tours to attract customers" - Ms. Khanh said.
Change the habit of booking tours at the "last minute"
According to Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the city's tourism industry has worked with airlines and aviation management agencies to capture information and promptly provide solutions. Support businesses in the industry. The increase in air ticket prices is related to the difficulties of the aviation industry due to lack of aircraft, so some options that can be implemented are increasing flight frequency and increasing night flights. Regarding tourism businesses, it is encouraged to diversify means of transportation, not depending entirely on airplanes.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications and Marketing of TSTtourist Company, said that developing and diversifying types of transportation in Vietnam is extremely necessary, ensuring convenient and smooth connection factors, Shorten time, increase visitors' experience time. Especially in the context that a series of North-South expressways have been completed and put into operation, "redrawing the map" of domestic tourism.
Not only will the cost of the package tour be reduced, this solution will also create an attractiveness for tourists' sightseeing journey by combining road and train - tourists' favorite type of transportation for sightseeing while traveling. Long journey, through many different terrains including plains, plateaus, seas...
“If airfare prices increase, in addition to financial capacity, tourists will have to find affordable forms of travel, of which short-distance road tours and train tours are quite interesting options because of the solve many problems at the same time, not only because of high airline prices but also the travel trends of customers" - Mr. Man said.
As for tourists, travel companies recommend changing the habit of booking "last-minute" tours when traveling domestically because airfare prices are higher the closer they are booked to departure time. Mr. Pham Anh Vu, Communications Director of Viet Tourism Company, analyzed that if customers change their habits and book tours 2-3 months in advance; Book in groups of family and friends; Book in advance... there will be deep discounts and much better costs.
"Travel businesses are willing to reduce profits to maintain reasonable tour prices and stimulate demand, but the long-term problem is that perhaps tourists should also change their habit of buying impromptu tours in the current context" - Mr. Vu speak.
Multimodal transportation has been promoted by many travel businesses in recent times after air ticket prices continuously remained high. At the recent press conference announcing the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Festival (scheduled to take place from April 4 to 7, at September 4 Park, District 23), Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa said the event is An opportunity for businesses to promote summer tours to tourists and city residents. However, domestic tourism is being competed with by foreign tourism in the context of airline costs continuously increasing.
