Travel companies want a nationwide promotional campaign extended to mid-2010 following its success in attracting Vietnamese customers to counter the sharp decline in the number of foreign tourists this year.

The number of domestic tourists from the city travel agencies more than doubled in the first seven months compared to the same period last year, said Dung, who is deputy head of a group of HCMC travel companies that signed up for the promotional campaign.

“Its greatest success is that the campaign has encouraged price cutting by tourism service providers,” Dung said in an interview with newswire VietNamNet on Friday.

Thanks to the price cuts of up to 50 percent, Vietnamese tour operators can better compete with Thai, Malaysian and Singapore travel firms, he said.

The campaign has encouraged more Vietnamese people to travel around the country, offsetting the decline in foreign arrivals due to the global economic slump, Dung said.

Foreign arrivals to Vietnam fell 17.7 percent to 2.48 million in the first eight months of 2009, with the number of tourists from key markets dropping by up to 35 percent, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said last week.

Vu The Binh, head of the VNAT’s travel department, said in August that Vietnam should lower the 2009 target of 4.2 million foreign arrivals to 3.7-3.8 million.

Although the “Impressive Vietnam” campaign, the country’s largest ever, has boosted the number of Vietnamese tourists by 13 percent nationwide, it is too soon to discuss ending the program, Dung said.

He suggested it be extended to mid-2010, when a recovery for the industry “can be secured”, instead of the end of this year as planned.

“A six-day package tour to the northern region costs around VND5.2 million under the promotion … but the price next year would be VND8 million otherwise. I doubt many people would find that acceptable.”

Dung warned that if prices were raised again, Vietnamese holiday seekers would opt to travel abroad as foreign travel companies often held attractive, long-term promotions.

Vietnam’s tourism sector, which employs more than 10 percent of the country’s workforce, needs to keep prices as low as possible to attract more tourists, he said.

Source: Thanh Nien