VietNamNet Bridge – Travel firms and hotels sat together to discuss the cutting of tour fees to lure more international travellers to Vietnam. However, a lot of problems have arisen in the itinerary to seek a common voice.

Travel firms are planning to slash tour fee to attract more foreign tourists

Business Director of Sheraton Hotel Tran Manh Ha said that the hotel has shaken hands with some companies specialising in attracting travellers from South Korea and Western Europe. However, there has been no considerable change in the flow of tourists from the markets. Of course, the low number of travellers from the markets can also be partially attributed to the Christmas and New Year holiday, when people do not like travelling.

Though travel firms all agree that it is necessary to slash tour fees to attract more travellers, they still think that it is impossible to slash tour fees sharply by 30-50% as suggested by VNAT in the context of high input costs (high electricity prices, telecommunication fees and taxes).

Director of Hoa Binh Hotel Le Thi Bich Thuy also said that the hotel had cut hotel room rates, but it still needs to thoroughly consider whether to slash the rates as sharply as 30-50%.

“From January 1, 2009, the new salary policy will be applied under which the minimum wage increases by 30%. We have no other choice than generating profit to pay our staffs,” Thuy said.

Ha from Sheraton Hotel said that VNAT should consider thoroughly the expected efficiency of the tour fee reduction programme. VNAT should estimate if the programme can bring 5% more travellers to Vietnam in the context of the world’s minus and zero percent growth rates.

Ha said that if international travellers do not increase, the tour fee reductions will not have much effect, while it will make the incomes of hotels decrease.

It seems that no 5-star hotel representative attended the VNAT’s meeting on December 24 in Hanoi to discuss solutions to attract more travellers to Vietnam. After the break, only representatives of a few 3-star hotels were still in attendance.

Egoism may spoil a big campaign

Thailand on December 22 once again announced a tourism promotion campaign which surprised Vietnamese travel firms with the most attractive ever tour fees for February 28-June 30, 2009.

24 leading Thai hotels have committed one price at baht2,000/night/traveller ($50).

The government of Thailand has agreed to spend baht10-20mil on the website advertising the promotion campaign.

Vu The Binh, Head of the Travel Department under VNAT, emphasising the professionalism in attracting tourists of Thai companies, said that Vietnamese companies find it hard to sit together and join forces to reach common targets.

Binh said that Vietnamese companies do not act for the long term and common goals, they just act for their short-term benefits and are always ready to break agreements they signed before.

Luu Nhan Vinh, Director of Vietnam Tourism Company in Hanoi, also said that if hotels do not cooperate with each other, the programme on tour fee reductions will become unfeasible.

Experts have suggested that $20-30mil of the $1bil worth of demand stimulus package should be spent on tourism. They said that in the current context of stagnant production, the government should pay attention to promoting tourism. VNAT should ask the government to slash VAT from 10% currently to 5%.

Ha Yen