Efforts to connect and stimulate demand

Rising airfares have led many travelers to reconsider and opt for alternative modes of transportation such as road and rail. This has created opportunities for train travel , offering cheaper and more economical options for users.

Tourism and railway links

Recognizing this trend, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration and the Vietnam Railways Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation. Accordingly, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration and the Vietnam Railways Corporation will cooperate in developing a special preferential fare policy for railway tourists in annual tourism stimulus programs; establishing a mechanism to support services and sightseeing at tourist destinations for passengers with train tickets; coordinating with localities to connect road transport between train stations and tourist destinations; introducing train stations on railway lines connecting to tourist and heritage destinations on digital tourism maps; encouraging travel companies to bring tourists by train; and connecting tourism service businesses to participate in cooperation programs to stimulate railway tourism, creating new tourism products associated with railways.

Du khách tham quan đường hoa biển Đà Nẵng Ảnh: BÍCH VÂN — Tourists visit the flower-lined beach in Da Nang . Photo: BICH VAN

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong commented that the cooperation between the tourism and railway sectors will certainly create attractive products and combo packages for tourists, enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese tourism. In addition, it will boost communication and promotion of the image of Vietnamese tourism and railway services, attracting domestic and international tourists. It will also connect localities and tourism businesses to develop new, unique, and attractive tourism products, while simultaneously developing effective tourism stimulus programs.

Director of the National Tourism Administration, Nguyen Trung Khanh, also highly appreciated the potential of rail tourism, stating that this type of tourism not only offers novel and exciting experiences for tourists but also contributes to diversifying tourism products. The railway system connects localities and destinations across the country, facilitating tourists to explore the beauty of each region. This is a crucial factor in promoting tourism development in localities, linking destinations, and creating attractive and diverse inter-provincial and inter-regional tourism products. "Through close cooperation, both sides will effectively exploit the enormous potential of the railway system, not only increasing the number of tourists but also improving service quality, creating new and attractive tourism products and services in conjunction with the railway transport system along the length of the country," Mr. Khanh said.

From the perspective of a tourism business, Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh, Director of Golden T Travel Company, believes that one of the most important factors in transportation is price. Therefore, the railway industry should consider further reducing ticket prices and implementing reasonable pricing policies to attract more customers. In the future, airlines will increase the number of night flights with significantly reduced prices, comparable to train fares, thus making railway tourism less competitive and less attractive. "Reducing ticket prices will stimulate customer demand and expand the market for railway tourism," Mr. Thanh said.

Mr. Pham Minh Quang, General Director of Dolphin Tour, suggested that to promote the development of railway tourism, it is necessary to invest in more beautiful and higher-quality train carriages, as well as high-end experiential spaces to serve affluent customers. In addition, because passengers spend a long time on the train, it is necessary to design more entertainment products throughout the long journey.

Local authorities provide support to stimulate demand.

From a local perspective, since the end of June, Da Nang has pioneered a summer tourism stimulus program including four special combo packages for travelers flying from Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi. Participating in this program, travelers only need to spend about 3 million VND to receive services including round-trip airfare, two nights' hotel stay, and airport transfer. However, the flights included are night flights.

Along with Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, together with airlines and tourism businesses (travel agencies, accommodation establishments), is developing combo packages for overnight flights for the summer, year-end, and possibly on an annual basis. Many large hotels have registered to participate with various discounts, ranging from 20% to 100%.

Speaking about Da Nang's tourism stimulus program, Mr. Nguyen Duy Giang, Head of the Travel Services Department of Hanoi Tourism Corporation in Da Nang, said that after more than a month of implementation, the program has been quite promising, attracting many tourists' interest and inquiries. However, Mr. Giang also noted that this stimulus program mainly creates a ripple effect. "The advantage of the program is that it has attracted the attention of tourists to Da Nang, something other provinces haven't been able to do. This shows that Da Nang City is paying attention to and investing in the tourism industry, creating the best conditions for tourists," Mr. Giang said. According to Mr. Giang, other localities that want to implement this program should first develop new products.

Mr. Pham Anh Vu, Deputy General Director of Viet Travel Company, assessed that Da Nang's initiative to introduce a tourism stimulus package by linking airlines and accommodation establishments is a good idea to stimulate domestic tourism demand and could be replicated and implemented on a large scale. However, in the long term, air travel remains an indispensable component of tourism. "The domestic tourism industry has development potential, but stimulating demand requires the joint efforts of travel businesses, supportive policies from the Government, and close cooperation between related sectors. This includes policies to support airfare and tourism service prices for travel businesses to build effective stimulus programs. In particular, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Transport need to strengthen their cooperation to implement synchronized and effective tourism stimulus programs," the representative of this business suggested.

(To be continued)

(*) See Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper from the issue dated August 1st.

Businesses are making efforts to stimulate demand.

Besides local efforts, travel businesses are also striving to optimize operations, diversify products, and form large-scale business linkages to attract tourists. As a business based in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Travel Company has many positive linkages with provinces in the East and Northwest of Vietnam, stemming from regional cooperation programs initiated by the Ho Chi Minh City tourism industry at the local level. A highlight of this linkage program is that the company has reduced tour costs while maintaining quality and meeting the significant demand from Southern tourists traveling by air to Dien Bien, Son La, Ha Giang, Cao Bang, etc.