VietNamNet Bridge – The industry, which was already suffering from the world’s global economic crisis, has become more burdened by the H1N1 pandemic.

Travel firms have been trying to attract domestic travellers

Tran The Dung, a Fiditour Executive, said that since the beginning of the year, a lot of inbound tours have been cancelled. Even travellers who booked tours and confirmed schedules have cancelled tours at the last minute.

Dung said that a lot of countries have advised their citizens not to travel at this moment and people are afraid of the pandemic.

Minh Son, Head of the Travel Division of APEC travel joint venture, which specialises in bringing Japanese travellers to Vietnam, has also reported sharp falls of Japanese travellers in May and June.

The number of Japanese travellers in May 2009 was 16.5 percent fewer than in May last year. The figure in June 2009 proves to be more worrying, with the sharp fall of 39 percent compared to June 2008. Most scheduled tours have been cancelled. The firm expects that the number of travellers will drop further in July 2009.

Low fees prove to be lifebuoy

The sharp falls in numbers of travellers have forced travel firms to cut tour fees even more heavily.

“We joined the demand stimulus programme initiated by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, and slashed tour fees by 10-15 percent. However, we have had to slash another 25 percent to lure more travellers,” Dung of Fiditour said.

Not only travel firms, hotels are also trying to lure more travellers by launching attractive promotion campaigns. The room rates at some hotels have decreased by 50-60 percent from last year.

Deputy General Director of New World Hotel Dang Huy Hai said that the flu pandemic has made the occupancy rate 5-7 percent lower than the expected rate. Therfore, besides slashing room rates by another 5 percent compared to pre-flu period, the hotel has also organised cooking festivals to attract domestic travellers.

Hai said that not only export companies, but hotels should also think of targeting the domestic market in the current circumstances.

VietNamNet/VnMedia