Travel Companies Prepare Post-Tsunami Plans

Travel Companies Prepare Post-Tsunami Plans

Travel companies in Vietnam are drawing up new business plans to capitalize on the possible increase of foreign tourists to the country in the aftermath of the recent Asian tsunami.

As Vietnam was unaffected by the tsunami, tourists planning to visit surrounding countries that were, such as Thailand, will likely cancel their tours and perhaps head to Vietnam instead, travel agencies said.

"Phuket is a well-known tourist spot in Thailand. Usually, Northern and Eastern Europeans flock to Phuket during this time of the year to enjoy the beautiful weather," said an official from giant travel company Saigontourist. "But since the sea wave happened, it is likely that many tourists will cancel their Thailand tours and come to Vietnam," said the official.

Saigontourist affiliated companies have already started receiving several bookings from northern European tourists in the past few days, he added.

To take advantage of the situation, Saigontourist has decided to cooperate with Thai travel companies in order to gain more tourists. According to Saigontourist's plan, Thai travel companies, which have established agents in Northern and Eastern Europe, will recommend Vietnam to those canceling their Thailand tours, said the official. This way, the Thai companies can still earn a profit when recommending Saigontourist, he added.

As well, Saigontourist affiliate companies will also strengthen its promotion and advertising of Vietnam in these European markets as part of its long-term plans.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City-based tour operator Vietravel will launch an advertising campaign in the European market this month, said Nguyen Quoc Ky, its general director.

"In the coming months, we expect the number of European arrivals to increase," said Mr. Ky, "how much it increases will depend mainly on how effective our promotion campaign is," he added.

Mr. Ky also emphasizes the need for Vietnam's entire tourism industry to join efforts and have well-prepared plans to reach the particular European market. Vietravel’s promotion campaign this month is just a drop in the ocean, he said.

"Well-prepared plans would help Vietnam tourism leave a good impression on European tourists and attain its target of three million foreign arrivals in 2005," he said.

Initial statistics show that around 10,000 international visitors already arrived in Vietnam in the four first days of 2005.

At present, almost all three to five-star hotels in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are fully booked.

In Hoi An ancient town and Nha Trang city in the central region, hotels are also fully booked and many other travel companies are struggling to find hotels for tourists.

Vietnam received a total of 2.92 million international arrivals in 2004, up 20.5 per cent on-year and a new record. This helped bring the total tourism revenues to VND27 trillion (US$1.72 billion), up by 22.7 per cent.

(Young People Online, Vnexpress)