Da Nang pushes Bangkok air route

Da Nang City authorities are making efforts to revive an air route to Bangkok which was suspended last year.

According to the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, they are working with Thai Airways, which was flying earlier, to bring the service back to life late this year or early next year.

Tran Chi Cuong, director of the department's Travel Management Division, said local tour operators and hotels would partially cover the carrier's losses on the route, while Thai Airways will bring them foreign visitors in return.

AirAsia and SilkAir operate regular flights from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to the central city. The city is also co-operating with the Hong Kong-based Hong Thai Travel Services Ltd to promote tourism.

Travel firms aim to lure Thai tourists

Travel agencies from Da Nang, Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue will launch a roadshow programme to promote tourism in Bangkok, Thailand next month.

The programme aims to introduce regional highlights to Thai visitors. Natural attractions like Son Tra Peninsula, Ba Na Hills, and hot spring Phuoc Nhon will be showcased along with cultural attractions such as tuong (classical drama) performances, Cham Dance and the markets of Han and Con.

The central coastal city has hosted over 1 million tourists, including 313,000 foreigners. Revenues from tourism have reached VND2.33 trillion ($111 million).

National Day tours cheaper than normal

HCM City travel firms will keep prices of tours during the long National Day weekend next month unchanged or even reduced them slightly.

Saigontourist has rolled out 50 domestic tours ranging from two to four days to destinations like Phan Thiet, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Con Dao, Phu Quoc, Da Nang, and Hoi An.

Family groups going to places like Da Nang, Hue, Ha Noi, Ninh Binh, Ha Long Bay, and Sa Pa will get discounts of up to 30 per cent.

Vietravel said it would not increase prices during the holidays and even mark down certain tours. Thus, a tour to the northern region will be VND2.7 million cheaper than normal, and to the central region, VND2.5 million less. A five-day Nha Trang-Phu Yen tour will cost VND1.1 million less than on normal days.

Lien Bang Travelink has unveiled a range of domestic and outbound tours for the occasion. It will cut prices of tours to the central and northern regions by up to 30 per cent.

Meanwhile, the tourism stimulus programme launched by Vietnam Airlines is still in effect, with cheap tours to Phu Quoc, Da Nang-Hoi An-Hue, and Ha Noi-Ha Long-Sa Pa.

The National Day, September 2, falls on a Sunday, meaning Monday is a compensatory day off for all.

Discounts hope to lure travellers

To stimulate domestic tourism, carriers and travel agencies have been co-operating to offer discounts of up to 49 per cent.
But the programme has not been as successful as expected since domestic tours remain much more expensive than tours to Southeast Asia.

According to Vietravel, Hanoitourist, and Saigontourist, only one domestic tour by flight is booked every week compared to three to Bangkok.

Travel agencies said hotel rooms and airfares are the two most important factors in determining tour prices. But persuading hotels to lower tariffs is very difficult.

Following Vietnam Airlines, other carriers like VietJet Air, Air Mekong, and Jestar Pacific have also responded to the stimulus programme. Sixteen tour operators are committed to the programme and promise to offer customers better choices.

Travel firms join hands for cheap tours

Travel firms based in the North are jointly offering four identical tours on a promotional basis.

A four-day Da Nang-Hoi An-My Son tour priced at VND5.5 million/person and a five-day HCM City-Pnom Penh-Siem Riep tour for VND8.69 million both depart on Saturdays.

Four-day HCM City-Mui Ne-Dai Nam and the HCM City-Vung Tau-Dai Nam tours each costing VND6.99 million will depart on Thursdays and Fridays.