VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s tourism industry is preparing for the high season of foreign tourists.

Director of the southern branch of Ho Guom Diethelm Dam Thi Huynh Mai said that the firm has got a lot of contracts on bringing tourists to Vietnam this summer.

Mai said that the firm does not focus on providing updated information about the flu situation in Vietnam because that information has been updated by the World Health Organisation. Mai said that travellers should receive enough information, but no one should make the problem more serious than it really is.

Mai admitted that the number of tourists coming to Vietnam has decreased recently, but said that it was because of the global economic downturn rather than because of the flu outbreak.

She said that the number of travellers in the upcoming season may not be as high as during last year, but the situation will be better than the last few months and this should be seen as a positive sign for the tourism industry.

According to Exotissimo, to date, no delegation travellers have cancelled tours because of the flu pandemic.

Asian Trails has said that travellers now continue booking tours for summer.

Mai from Ho Guom Diethelm said that the cooperation of hotels and resorts by slashing room rates has helped make tour fees much softer. The room rate at 3-star hotels has been reduced from $60 per night to $45 (the rates will be applied from June to the end of August 2009). Besides, 5-star hotels have also slashed room rates by 10-20 percent.

Meanwhile, some travel firms which specilise in receiving tourists from the US have reported falls in numbers of travelers.

Le Quang Thang, Head of the Cruise Tourism Division under Saigontourist, has affirmed that the number of cruise tourists from the market has dropped significantly due to the economic downturn and H1N1 flu pandemic. However, the number of cruise tourists from European countries remains stable.

Chairman of the HCM City Hotel Association Tao Van Nghe said that in the first 17 days of June 2009, the occupancy rate of hotels in HCM City was just 43 percent, much less than last year, though hotels have slashed room rates significantly.

According to Nguyen Van Tran, Managing Director of Apex travel firm, the problem is psychological. People are not afraid of the disease, but they do not like the idea of sitting on the same plane as people who might have the flu, in which case they might have to undergo unpleasant medical checks and quarantines.

Vo Anh Tai, Director of Saigontourist, thinks that in order to reassure travellers, travel firms should provide enough information to put their minds at ease.

VietNamNet/TT