An initial 19 travel companies in HCMC have clubbed together under the so-called Tourism Stimulus Team 2010 to jointly promote discounted tours to travelers.

Dung added more companies would be invited to join the team.

Dung said 11 of the 19 travel firms had agreed to sell common products as part of the tourist stimulus project as well as coordinate in marketing activities. Along with these tours, each company will have their own promotional tours too.

“We have planned to launch six common tours to the Central and North regions first. Each company will spend about VND3 million to VND5 million per week on common advertising,” Dung told the Daily on Wednesday.

Some members have not yet agreed to sell and promote common products as they are still waiting for promotion air tickets from Vietnam Airlines.

Dung added that the eight companies who have already received tickets from Vietnam Airlines would buy promotion air tickets for the group’s other members.

“Along with launching common tours, these new cooperation activities will help us to attract more tourists,” he said.

Dung said many local travelers were interested in packaged promotion tours. More than 200 travelers have booked packaged tours from the company since launching the promotion early this month.

The Tourism Stimulus Team expects to sell packaged tours to 20,000 people this year compared to 14,000 in 2009.

* Saigontourist Travel Service Co. will triple its travel insurance payouts for outbound travelers and give free travel insurance to domestic tourists from next Thursday in a bid to better protect its customers.

Under the new program, outbound travelers will have access to a US$30,000 payout per case, compared to the current US$10,000. Tourists traveling to Europe will have a maximum US$50,000 payout per case.

Saigontourist began offering free coverage to all guests who bought outbound tours in mid-2005.

The tour operator will drop the travel insurance fee for domestic travelers too, paying out a maximum VND60 million per case. Currently, travel insurance fees for domestic tourists are included in tour prices and the maximum payout is just VND10 million.

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Saigontourist’s marketing manager, said that the company would not increase tour prices. She added that the increased payout was to better protect Saigontourist’s customers and to increase business as well.

The higher insurance policy will cover natural calamity, terrorism and lost luggage as well as lengthen health treatment time in Vietnam to 31 days instead of 21.

VietNamNet/SGT