VietNamNet Bridge – Travel agencies complain that it is difficult to attract foreign travelers from some markets because of the depreciation of many foreign currencies against the dollar, which has made tours more expensive.

Hoang Thi Phong Thu, chair of Anh Duong Travel, and her coworkers met with major partners in resorts in Binh Thuan and Nha Trang recently to persuade them to cut service fees for Russian tourists –  major clients of Anh Duong.

If the partners agree to cut service fees, Anh Duong will be able to lower tour fees, which is necessary to retain Russian tourists.

The sharp fall of the Russian ruble has increased the cost of tours to Vietnam for which Russians have to pay in US dollar.

Thu said that if Vietnamese travel firms did not reduce tour fees, they would lose Russian travelers.

“In late 2013, one US dollar could buy 30 rubles. But now one needs to spend 43 rubles to get one dollar. Meanwhile, Russian incomes have also fallen,” Thu explained, adding that cutting tour fees is the most important and urgent task travel firms have to do now to attract Russian tourists.

Pham Ngoc Minh, general director of Vietnam Airlines, confirmed that the Ukraine political crisis has caused the ruble to lose 20 percent of its value. The number of Russian passengers to Vietnam has decreased so sharply that the air carrier has decided to put the Vietnam-Russia air route under close watch.

The director of a travel firm in HCM City also said that it was no longer simple to attract Russian travelers like in the past.

According to the businessman, in order to lure Russian travelers, Vietnamese travel firms, for many years, have been offering low tour fees to compete with Pegas Touristik, a large firm with great advantages and a large agent network all over Russia.

As the ruble keeps depreciating, travel firms will have to slash tour fees further.

“I know that some companies in Russia offer a 12-day 3-star hotel tour at just VND21 million. I can say for sure that the low price is unbearable for Vietnamese travel firms," he said.

Some other firms complain that the number of Indonesian travelers is on the decrease because of the depreciation of the rupiah against the US dollar. In the past, 1 million rupiah was enough to buy $100, but the price now is 1.2 million rupiah for $100. As a result, Indonesians have to pay more to book tours to Vietnam.

In normal conditions, the fees of tours to Vietnam are reportedly 30-40 percent higher than tours to some neighboring countries. And the problem is  even more serious with the depreciation of foreign currencies.

Kim Chi