Vietnamese tourists 'hunt' for tours to Thailand to watch football

Right after the match between Thailand and the Philippines at the ASEAN Cup 2024 ended, Ngoc Hung went online to look for plane tickets and tours to Thailand.

"I want to go there to cheer for my team," Nguyen Ngoc Hung said, adding that he is looking for tickets on the evening of December 30, 2024, because he is afraid that if he doesn't book quickly, they will be sold out or there will be no more cheap tickets.

According to the schedule, the Thai and Vietnamese teams will meet at Viet Tri Stadium on January 2 to play the first leg of the final and Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok will play the second leg on January 5. Not only Hung, his group of football-loving friends are also excited about the plan to go to Thailand together to cheer for the Vietnamese team.

"Since 8am on December 31, 2024, I have received 5-6 messages from customers asking to buy a tour to Thailand to watch the Vietnam team play Thailand," said Dao To Nga, a sales employee at a travel company in Hanoi. By 1pm the same day, Nga had finalized a group tour of nearly 10 customers to watch the football match.

According to the survey, in addition to traveling independently, Vietnamese fans can go to Thailand to watch football in two forms: buying a package tour or a free & easy package. Package tours have many itineraries for customers to choose from, including 2 days 1 night, 3 days 2 nights or 4 days 3 nights, priced from 11.9 million to 14.99 million VND. Tourists are picked up and dropped off during their stay in Thailand, accompanied by a Vietnamese tour guide, have tickets to watch football, and stay at 4-star hotels or higher.

In addition to watching football, tourists go sightseeing according to schedule, to famous places in the capital Bangkok such as Jomtien beach, 4-region floating market, Buddha Mountain, Four-Faced Buddha, Wat Arun, Wat Yanawa.

With the free & easy package, the price is cheaper, from 9.9 million VND, including airfare, hotel and football tickets.

"This is not only a trip to watch football but also a memorable trip at the beginning of the year," said Mr. Pham Van Bay, Deputy Director of Vietravel Hanoi branch. Tour guests will be given flags, banners, and hand-held cheering signs to bring into the stadium. The company expects to serve more than 1,000 guests, equivalent to 30 groups departing from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Thailand to watch the final match. The number of customers buying the tour has reached 30% of the plan after only half a day of opening for sale.

The price of the football tour is 1.5-2 times higher than the price of the traditional 5-day, 4-night tour to Thailand. However, according to estimates from tour sales units, the number of customers booking on the first day is "very positive".

Ms. Chung Thuy Chau, Sales Director of Viet Travel, also said that the demand for trips to Thailand among Vietnamese tourists increased dramatically during the second leg of the final match. "Currently, the number of tourists registering for tours has increased sharply," Ms. Chau said. They plan to organize 3-5 groups, each with 30-50 tourists, to go to Thailand during this time. In the first few hours of opening sales, they have gathered enough tourists to depart. Prices for airfare, hotels and related services have increased due to high demand, so tourists traveling independently may find it more expensive than those traveling on a tour.

"I want to witness the emotional and proud moment of the Vietnamese team in Thailand again, like the snowy Changzhou event before," said Mr. Hung. The tourist from Thai Binh hopes that this time the Vietnamese team will win the ASEAN Cup 2024 championship.

Suggested itinerary for Vietnamese tourists going to Thailand to watch football

Day 1: Depart from Vietnam to Bangkok, check in hotel, visit some famous places.

Day 2: Watch the final at Rajamangala Stadium.

Day 3: Sightseeing and shopping in Bangkok before returning to Vietnam.

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