Difficulties in air transport are one of the reasons why the tourist market to Thanh Hoa has narrowed. Photo: Hoai Anh
Currently, one of the obstacles for Thanh Hoa's "smokeless industry" is the sharp increase in airfares, and there is only one round-trip flight from Thanh Hoa to Ho Chi Minh City. Information from travel agencies shows that round-trip airfares from Thanh Hoa to Ho Chi Minh City in June and July increased by about 20-25% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the number of cheap tickets or promotions for travel agencies from airlines is almost gone, or falls at inconvenient times for tourists . In addition, just entering the peak summer tourist season, weather fluctuations have caused prolonged rain. This has caused many travel agencies to have difficulty organizing tours, especially for tourists who want to go to coastal tourist areas - the majority of visitors to Thanh Hoa during this time.
Sharing about this situation, Director of Huong Viet Travel Gold Investment Company Limited, Le Thi Huong said: “Through cooperation and association programs between Thanh Hoa and provinces and cities in the Southeast region, in recent years our company has welcomed many groups of tourists from this market to Thanh Hoa. However, since the beginning of the year, domestic airfares have increased, especially in May, June and July, with no signs of “cooling down”. Meanwhile, service prices at destinations during the peak summer tourist season are almost no longer preferential, which has caused tour prices to “increase” significantly. In addition, prolonged rain has shortened the time to welcome tourists during the peak season to Thanh Hoa, especially coastal tourist areas”.
Along with transportation costs, 3-5 star accommodation services in tourist areas and spots have almost returned to the listed price, no promotional programs are applied on weekends and holidays. At coastal tourist destinations such as Sam Son (Sam Son City); Hai Tien (Hoang Hoa); Hai Hoa, Bai Dong (Nghi Son Town) and resorts in the province, accommodation service prices in May, June and July are currently stable. In that context, local tourism businesses are forced to find a solution to balance prices while still ensuring quality to retain customers.
Pham Tien Hai, Permanent Vice President of Thanh Hoa City Tourism Association, said: “To ensure the goal of welcoming visitors, tourism businesses have focused on improving the quality of experiences and giving away accompanying services. Instead of reducing service prices, some tourism businesses have implemented the program “Buy 1 service, get 1 free service” to attract tourists’ attention, and on the other hand, reduce pressure on travel businesses when building tours. Along with that, apply preferential price policies exclusively for travel businesses in domestic chains when bringing visitors to Thanh Hoa.”
According to representatives of some tourism businesses in the province, difficulties have also brought new opportunities. In particular, the high price of domestic air tickets has also unintentionally "pulled" tourists back to nearby destinations, easier to travel by road or rail. Instead of going to other domestic tourist destinations by air, tourists in the Northern region and the Central provinces have preferred to choose Thanh Hoa to cut costs. According to tourism service businesses in the province, since the beginning of the year, the number of visitors from Hanoi , Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Ninh Binh provinces... has increased by about 15 - 20% compared to the same period. Short-term tours, resorts at Sam Son and Hai Tien beaches, connecting tours to cultural, spiritual and community ecological tourist destinations are especially popular with people in the Northern provinces. The strong development of the road transport system has helped shorten travel time, creating great convenience for domestic tourists to access destinations in Thanh Hoa.
To promote the exploitation of traditional markets, many businesses in Thanh Hoa have been making efforts to innovate tourism products to extend the length of stay and increase the spending of tourists. Instead of focusing only on sea tourism, tours combining relaxation - exploration - experience are becoming more and more popular. Tourists coming to Thanh Hoa can combine participating in famous cultural tourism destinations such as Lam Kinh Historical Site (Tho Xuan), Ho Dynasty Citadel World Cultural Heritage (Vinh Loc), exploring nature in Ben En National Park (Nhu Thanh), or experiencing community tourism in the villages of the West of Thanh Hoa.
Some tourism experts say that challenges during this year's peak season such as airfares, weather fluctuations or rising service prices are inevitable in the current context. However, if Thanh Hoa knows how to turn difficulties into opportunities, focus on enhancing customer experience, improving service quality...; and at the same time effectively exploiting the traditional tourist market, it can still maintain stable growth. The shift in tourist flows not only helps Thanh Hoa reduce the pressure of dependence on source markets, but this is also an opportunity for Thanh Hoa to build a sustainable tourism development strategy, linked to the actual needs of customer groups.
Hoai Anh
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/du-lich-thanh-hoa-vuon-len-tu-nhung-kho-khan-251179.htm
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