Tours to the United Arab Emirates have been flying off the shelves after the national men’s football team earned a place at the AFC Asian Cup 2019 quarterfinals, scheduled to take place in Dubai on January 24.

The Vietnamese team cheers up after the victory 

Pham Van Bay, deputy director of the tour operator Vietravel’s Hanoi branch, said that this time round, the company will bring some 200 football fans to the West Asian nation, and as of noon on January 21, half of the available seats had already been booked.

The two-day tour costs 27.9-30 million VND (1,200-1,290 USD) which covers the round-trip ticket, a ticket to the stadium, and visa. The company will operate charter flights which will use Vietnam Airlines aircraft and depart from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on January 24.

The travel firm Hanoi Red Tours is also offering a two-day tour worth 27.9 million VND starting from January 24, with fans receiving Vietnam flag T-shirts, hats, and banners as gifts to cheer up the Vietnamese team.

Vietnam advanced to the quarterfinals of the ongoing football tourney AFC Asian Cup 2019 after a breathtaking shootout with Jordan on the evening of January 20 in the UAE.

The two sides finished the official 90 minutes of the match with a 1-1 draw, in which Vietnam conceded a goal in the first half and gradually scored an equaliser in the second. 

After extra time went by without a goal, the teams entered the penalty shootout, where Vietnam won 4-2.

Vietnam will face the winner of the match between Japan and Saudi Arabia, scheduled for the evening of January 21. –VNA