Airfares have a strong impact on the tourism industry

According to leaders of many localities, the increase in airfares has reduced the number of domestic tourists traveling by air, reducing tourism revenue...

Mr. Tran Van Linh, Head of Tourism Management Department, Department of Tourism Kien Giang province said that the increase in airfares not only affects Phu Quoc but also other localities. Of which, Phu Quoc has the highest increase in airfares. In 2023, there were 11 routes connecting to Phu Quoc, but now there are only 3 routes to Phu Quoc: Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong.

Notably, the number of visitors did not decrease much. During the 5-day holiday from April 30 to May 1, the number of domestic visitors to Kien Giang province decreased by 36%. However, thanks to the increase in the number of visitors by road and international tourists, the number of visitors to Kien Giang province increased by nearly 20% in the first 4 months of the year. The province had high expectations for domestic tourists, but in the first 4 months of this year, the number of visitors to Phu Quoc only increased slightly by more than 7%.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the province Quang Nam also said that although there are no specific statistics, the number of tourists traveling by air to Quang Nam has decreased.

In years before the pandemic, most accommodation facilities were 80-90% full a month ago, but on the occasion of the April 30 holiday, 10 days ago, the facilities were still struggling.

Therefore, establishments have begun to increase stimulus packages for domestic customers traveling by train and car, increasing local customers to fill the gap of air customers.

According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Y Yen, Chairman of the Board of Members of SaigonTourist Travel, airfare currently accounts for about 50% of the total price of a tour.

For example, the price of a tour from Ho Chi Minh City to some northern provinces such as Hanoi-Ninh Binh-Ha Long-Sa Pa lasting 5 days and 4 nights, averages 12 million VND. Of which, the airfare is about 6-6.5 million VND.

That is a flexible standard economy ticket or a standard economy ticket. Of course, there are times when you need to fly at a good time, on a good day, the ticket price must be up to about 8 million VND; or flying late at night will be lower, about 4-5 million, but on average 6 million, accounting for 50% of the northern tour.

According to Mr. Yen, since the beginning of the year, airfares have increased by about 20%, and tour prices have increased by about 10% compared to the same period last year. Thus, the tour price is 12 million VND now, while last year it was about 11 million VND. The increase in airfares has greatly affected the tourism industry.

Tourism industry overcomes difficulties

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietravel Corp, said that the aviation and tourism industries are two wings of an airplane, organically affecting and closely connected to each other.

Recently, there has been a lot of false information, which then turned into generalizations, leading many people to misunderstand that the aviation industry is deliberately selling high-priced tickets for its own benefit, without caring about other units, especially the tourism industry.

In particular, there are many examples of domestic flights being more expensive than international flights. However, these are just a few isolated cases thanks to promotional programs, not common.

The Global Trend Report provided by FCM Consulting (a multinational travel service provider) also showed that by the end of 2023, international economy class airfares had increased by 17-25% compared to 2019.

According to Mr. Ky, airfares from Vietnam to the US have never been as expensive as they are now. Business class tickets used to cost only 3,000-4,000 USD, but now they cost 9,000-11,000 USD. Economy class tickets have also increased from 750-900 USD to 1,700-2,100 USD depending on the time.

Therefore, localities that want to stimulate tourism can encourage and consider supporting airlines when opening flights to the locality.

Airlines should also support tourism businesses and travel agencies by reducing deposits for series bookings, dividing payments into multiple installments, allowing for lump-sum payments... At the same time, destinations, on-site services, travel agencies... should sit together; the aviation industry should also connect with each other and support each other on the basis of having a common support policy for all airlines from the Government.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Y Yen also said that although domestic airfares have increased, domestic tour prices in Vietnam are currently not higher than foreign tour prices as many people say.

For example, with a 4-star standard, the tour price in the North is 12-15 million VND; in the Central region, it is 8-10 million VND; the tour to Thailand is 12 million VND, the tour to Thailand is 5-6 million VND, the tour to 0 VND is not included; the tour to Korea is over 20 million VND, the tour to Japan is over 30 million VND...

To stimulate domestic tourism in the context of rising airfares, travel agencies, airlines, destinations, hotels, and restaurants can sit together to find solutions to not increase tour prices or increase them by 3-5%.

For example, tourists can be advised to fly at night instead of flying at a good time. Tourists will lose out on sightseeing spots, but they can stay an extra night. So destinations, especially in Phu Quoc, Cam Ranh, Ha Long... places with a lot of condotel sources, can sit together and make combos with better prices...", Mr. Yen suggested.

In Quang Nam, to promote tourism development in the context of high airfares, the locality has stepped up promotion to attract tourists traveling by road. The provincial government has worked closely with travel and service businesses to develop more service packages to attract tourists traveling by road instead of just waiting for airfares to cool down.

In addition, Quang Nam province has focused on stimulus packages to increase quality, diversify products, and increase tourist service programs. In addition, promoting the region for customers traveling by car from Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, or the Central Highlands... to fill the gap of customers.

Thanks to that, in the first 4 months of 2024, the number of visitors to Quang Nam increased, not decreased, reaching 2.5 million, an increase of 8% over the same period in 2023; of which international visitors reached 1.5 million (up 7%), domestic visitors were 1 million (up 10%).

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