Very few Vietnamese people dream of going to Europe because they know that tours are very expensive. However, travel firms have begun introducing tours to Europe at “soft” prices.

Budapest at night

Nguyen Minh Tam, a Vietnamese man living in Poland, said that he likes tramping around the streets in Europe. He related that he and his family members last year toured Europe six or seven times.

According to Lam Tu Khoi, Deputy Head of Outbound Tour Division under Saigontourist, travel firms usually organise tours to Europe in seasons when famous festivals take place. Therefore, most of the tours have a departure time between March and May so that tourists can admire flowers at the well-known flower festival in the Netherlands or enjoy beer at the beer festival in Germany.

Despite the economic downturn and the anxiety about the flu pandemic, Vietnamese tourists still want to travel to Europe.

However, the number doing so remains modest. Saigontourist said that the number of tourists travelling in small groups this year is roughly the same as last year, some hundred people or so.

High fees, the biggest disadvantage

Hotel services and travel fees now account for nearly 70 percent of tour fees.

“We have been trying to persuade foreign partners to slash fees and seek low-cost transport tickets. Most flights to Europe have to transit at third countries, therefore, the expenses are high. Vietnam Airlines now is the only air carrier which has direct flights to France. However, it is very difficult to get low-cost tickets,” he added.

That explains why unlike tours to Thailand, China or Hong Kong, the fees of tours to Europe are very high and just suitable for high-income earners.

Saigontourist, for example, offers the tour ‘Discovering Europe’s summer’, under which tourists have to pay 57.9 million dong to go to three countries, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, a tour to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy has the fee of 76.5 million dong per traveller.

The lowest tour fee to Europe of Vietravel now is at EUR2,799, while the highest level is nearly EUR4,000.

Khoi said that a lot of clients prefer tours to Australia or South Korea because they are cheaper.

Bigger groups allow travellers to save money

Joining forces with VietNamNet Creative Communication Company, ISPEN Travel has launched a lot of tours to Europe at attractive prices.

For example, the lowest tour fee is EUR645 per travellers for a group of 18 people, while the highest tour fee is EUR1,416. The tour fees do not include round-trip airfare, about EUR1,400 per traveller.

According to Hoang Thi Thu Phuong from ISPEN Travel, if tourists can arrange tour guides, bus tickets, airport fees, excursion fees, money for visa and arrange meals themselves, they will be able to save a lot more money. A lunch has the price of EUR25, while dinner EUR30.

Bigger delegations will be able to enjoy lower costs, as the cost for renting a coach is EUR1 for every kilometre and bigger coaches can carry more passengers.

ISPEN Travel has good facilities to serve clients, including a hotel system near airports and coaches to carry tourists. The owner of ISPEN is a Vietnamese who well understands the tastes of travellers and has good relations with local residents, and thus knows about good services at reasonable prices.

ISPEN believes that with the soft fee tours, even the most tentative and thrifty might be enticed to head to Europe.

Ngoc Ha