The close cooperation among the local authorities and travel firms, and the representatives of the Russian side in settling the trouble caused by the bankruptcy of the Russian Lanta Tour, has helped Binh Thuan and Vietnam’s tourism win the hearts of international travelers.

Russian travelers in Binh Thuan province

“The model of settling tourism crisis”

This is the comment of Nguyen Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism VNAT about the support to the 300 Russian travelers who got stuck in Binh Thuan province since Russian Lanta Tour got bankrupted.

Tuan himself flew to Binh Thuan on January 31, to cooperate with the Binh Thuan local authorities to settle the problem as the representative of the state management agency.

Nearly 100 travelers have safely returned to Russia over the past few days thanks to the laudable efforts of the authorities and enterprises in Binh Thuan province. This is an encouraging result if noting that thousands of Russian travelers are still getting stuck in Thailand, India, Italia and Mexico. Director of Lanta Tour Thai in Bangkok has been arrested by the police, and the office of the travel firm has been demolished. Meanwhile, Lanta Vietnam in Phan Thiet remains safe and sound.

Tuan said he himself got surprised about the quick reaction of the local authorities. The Binh Thuan provincial people’s committee, the provincial Department for Sports and Tourism and the provincial tourism association have been cooperating closely with each other to find the most reasonable solutions. Especially, the local resorts have been serving the Russian travelers well despite the information about the bankruptcy of Lanta Tour.

At Romana, Hoang Ngoc, Seahorse, Rock Water Bay resorts, travelers have been told that they can feel secure to stay here until the tour finishing day. Some reports have paid a special attention to the unlucky travelers, sending letters to everyone to reassure them and support them to use the services of the resort. As for the travelers who decide to return to Russia, the resorts have carried them free of charge to HCM City.

“I had a dinner with the Russian General Consulate in HCM City and the representatives of Binh Thuan local authorities last night. He was very grateful and expressed his satisfaction with the active support and enthusiasm of local authorities and the professional behaviors of the resorts,” Tuan said.

The General Consulate also said that among the countries affected by the Lanta Tour trouble, Russian travelers have got the best support in Vietnam. This can be considered a “model” in settling tourism crisis.

The opportunity to advertise Vietnam’s tourism

The images about a country and its people can be seen most clearly in the way how it settles the troubles.

Two or three years ago, the professionalism of Thai tourism was praised, when Thai demonstrators explained to international tourists who got stuck at the airports about their behaviors, and provided meals and water free to tourists.

However, in the Lanta Tour case, Russian travelers in Thailand were told that they may be arrested because they don’t have money to pay to hotels, while thousands of people are still waiting at the airports.

Russia is a big market for Binh Thuan which welcomes 120,000 Russian travelers every year. Therefore, Binh Thuan local authorities well understand that it is necessary to “take care” for the special market.

Tuan emphasized that the support travelers can receive in difficulties would be the best advertisement about Vietnam’s tourism. A lot of Russian travelers have said they want to stay in Binh Thuan longer and have affirmed that they would return to Vietnam.

Nguyen Van Khoa, General Director of Ben Thanh Mui Ne travel firm, said that three lessons have been drawn from the case. First, the Vietnamese partners need to keep close watch over the debts. Second, in case of troubles, it’s necessary to have the measures to reassure travelers timely. Third, it’s necessary to have the support from the State.