Tourists from Ho Chi Minh City said that their last visit to Con Dao was 8 years ago, taking a regular 12-hour ferry ride from Vung Tau to the island. Ms. Ly hasn't had the chance to return to Con Dao, mostly because "air travel is expensive, and ferry travel takes too much time."
The Thang Long high-speed ferry service between Ho Chi Minh City and Con Dao will officially launch on May 13th and depart on its first trip at 7:00 AM on May 15th from Hiep Phuoc Port, Nha Be District, 22 km from the center of Ho Chi Minh City. Passengers can take a shuttle boat from Bach Dang Wharf to Hiep Phuoc Port, with a transfer time of approximately 52 minutes. The journey time from Hiep Phuoc Port to Con Dao is approximately 4.5 hours.
The Thang Long high-speed ferry is considered the largest passenger ship currently operating in Vietnam. Made of aluminum alloy, the ship is 77.46 meters long, over 9.5 meters wide, has four decks, was newly built in August 2020, and has a capacity of 1,017 passengers.
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According to Ms. Ly, the Ho Chi Minh City - Con Dao high-speed ferry route, once operational, will help alleviate the high cost of travel. Passengers from Ho Chi Minh City who want to go to Con Dao no longer have to spend time traveling hundreds of kilometers to Vung Tau port.
"Train tickets are almost half the price of a plane ticket. Taking a boat trip to see the sea is an experience worth waiting for," said Ly.
The price of a one-way speedboat ticket ranges from 615,000 to 1.1 million VND depending on the class of ticket. According to a survey, the lowest price for a round-trip air ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Con Dao in May is 3.5 million VND.
Mr. Tran Song Hai, General Director of Greenlines DP, the co-operating company, said that the number of interested customers has been increasing since the official announcement of ticket sales. Approximately 60% of customers book through online channels, and 40% purchase tickets directly at Bach Dang wharf or through travel companies distributing tickets. The majority of customers buying tickets for this route are domestic tourists, with 70% from the southern region and 30% from the northern region.
Foreign visitors have started inquiring, with an outreach rate of approximately 7%. Mr. Hai stated that the company is planning to collaborate with international OTA channels such as Tripadvisor, Booking.com, and traditional travel agencies to reach this customer base.
According to Mr. Hai, the launch of the Con Dao - Ho Chi Minh City high-speed ferry service is the result of efforts from many parties. All necessary procedures and permits were issued just a week ago. Operation faced difficulties because Hiep Phuoc is a cargo port awaiting approval to become a passenger port. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the Maritime Administration, and the Ministry of Transport have been very proactive in working together to get the ferry service operational.
"Because it's a cargo port, the infrastructure for receiving passengers is still rudimentary, lacking waiting areas for tourists. This year, it's expected to be completed to improve service quality," Mr. Hai said.
Mr. Hai believes that the Ho Chi Minh City - Con Dao expressway is an economically effective solution given the high cost and limited number of flights to the island. Currently, all aircraft flying to Con Dao are small, with high operating costs, leading to limitations in flight frequency and difficulty in reducing expenses.
He also predicted that tourism in Con Dao would become vibrant again, with tourism services on the island likely to reach 100% capacity. "With the expected increase in visitors, the operating unit will operate ships with a frequency of one trip per day, transporting a maximum of 1,017 passengers per trip," Mr. Hai said.
To avoid the possibility of tourists bringing a large amount of waste to Con Dao, the authorities are also considering implementing a regulation prohibiting the bringing of packaged food and plastic bottles onto boats to the island.
Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, expects the train route to promote regional tourism products linking Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast region, acting as a catalyst for the development of spiritual tourism and resort tourism. Visitors to Ho Chi Minh City will have more options in addition to the existing urban tourism products.
"Ho Chi Minh City is encouraging local businesses to collaborate with the operator of the Ho Chi Minh City - Con Dao high-speed ferry to develop more waterway tour products so that tourists have more options," Mr. Hoa said.
TH (according to VnExpress)Source
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