VietNamNet Bridge – Tour operators in HCMC will be busy as usual during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays, or Tet, since bookings for domestic and outbound travel have remained strong despite the dismal economic outlook.

Some outbound tours and those of key domestic destinations are fully booked, they said.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, director of the public relations and communications department of Tan Dinh Trade and Travel Service Co., better known as Fiditourist, told the Daily on Monday that her company was surprised at its better-than-expected business performance.

Fiditourist has received higher-than-forecast bookings from local travelers, she said.

Mai said Fiditourist’s target for this Tet was to serve some 12,000 travelers over a period of 13 days before and after the holidays, the same number as last year when most tour service providers enjoyed an exuberant travel season thanks to the country’s strong economic growth.

This year the company has already seen bookings reaching the target and it has arranged additional tours for some 2,000 travelers, with a year-on-year increase of some 15%, she added.

Three or four-day tours of seaside destinations such as Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet are the top choices, according to Fiditourist. They are followed by tours of central and northern provinces.

Strong demand for travel in the previous Tet festivals was a good excuse for travel service providers to hike tour prices by 30% to 40% as compared to normal days. However, this year tour prices have remained the same or have grown insignificantly.

Vo Anh Tai, director of Saigontourist Travel Service Company, said tour prices had changed a lot in comparison to normal days and that there were even some tours offered at lower prices to attract customers.

Tai attributed the stable tour prices this year to little or no change in room rates and service fees in key tourist destinations.

Along with the local tours, the outbound tour segment has shown positive signs as many holidaymakers have chosen to spend their festive time abroad.

A representative of Vietravel said the company would arrange tours for some 9,000 guests this Tet, with about 5,000 of them opting to visit countries such as Japan, the United States, South Korea.

Other overseas destinations of choice are Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Tai of Saigontourist said Thailand’s political instability was discouraging local travelers from visiting the neighboring country, which was once a top destination for domestic tourists.

(Source: SGT)