Vietnamese travel agencies are still arranging tours to the US despite the swine flu epidemic. However, they said that the tours will be canceled if the situation becomes more serious.

More and more Vietnamese people now like travelling abroad

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Foreign Business Director of the Fiditour Travel Agency, said that travelers are now paying attention to the news as the epidemic has just been discovered. No client of Fiditour has cancelled tours to the US. Mai said that a tour to the US slated for May 4 will still be carried out as scheduled.

Lam Tu Khoi, Deputy Head of Saigontour’s Outbound Tour Division , said that his firm is organizing tours to the US as usual, three or four a month. A group of travelers left HCM City on April 28 evening to tour American cities on the east and west coasts.

“Previously, our clients flew to San Diego and then crossed the border to Mexico. However, since the swine flu broke out, [we have] advised them not to travel to Mexico,” Khoi said.

Huyen Trang, Deputy Head of Vietran Tours’ Outbound Tour Division, said that his firm has a group of travelers who are now in the US and will return to Vietnam on May 3. Another group of 10-15 travelers is scheduled to depart Vietnam on May 27.

According to Trang, as the information about the swine flu has just become known in the last several days, no client has decided to cancel a tour. He added that most of the travelers to the US aim to visit their relatives, or go for business or study. Most of them plan to stay for six months to a year in the US, and sightseeing is just a part of their trip.

Besides, the places that most Vietnamese travellers visit, like Las Vegas, San Francisco and Washington DC, have not reported any swine flu cases.

However, travel agencies admit that some clients have expressed concern about the swine flu outbreak. Duong Mai Lan, responsible for research and development Division at Vietravel Hanoi, said that several travelers who booked tours to the US slated for May told her agency that they want to delay their departure until June, while they follow the news.

“If the swine flu becomes more serious, we will have to cancel tours,” Lan said.

The Fiditour representative also said that if Vietnam and other governments recommend their citizens to restrict traveling, the firm will cancel tours. Travelers will be able to change the departure time without having to pay any additional fees.

On April 28, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that the ministry has not released any recommendations for travelers, adding that any recommendations will based on the advice of the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, VietNamNet has learned that two popular destinations — San Diego (close to the border with Mexico) and New York — are ‘sensitive’ areas, where swine flu cases have appeared.

Ha Yen