Alliance of airlines, travel firms and hotels to boost domestic tourism in Vietnam, experts say

Passengers enjoy Phú Quốc Island from a cable-car system linking An Thới Township with Thơm Island in Phú Quốc Island District, the southern province of Kiên Giang. — VNS Photo Thu Giang

HANOI — Deals among airlines, travel companies and hotels are expected to help boost tourism as the sector deals with the ravages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Insiders have said that cooperation in joint sales would stimulate tourism as airlines companies can offer prices that aren’t too high, while hotels and travel companies also offer deals to encourage travel.

Cooperation among businesses was discussed by participants at a conference on tourism promotion in the Mekong Delta held by Vietnam Airlines and Cần Thơ authorities in the southern city on Monday.

Speaking at the event, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Hà Văn Siêu said the aviation and tourism industries were the two sectors most affected by COVID-19 and there was precedent for the impact the disease had made.

“Travel demand is very high, but the opportunity to travel is not easy. The current tendency is to travel in small groups, near destinations with nature to ensure health and safety. People are not ready and still afraid of crowds and far destinations, posing both opportunities and difficulties for the tourism and aviation industries,” Siêu said.

He said to overcome these difficulties, besides the Government’s support policies, ties between airlines, travel agencies and hotels to produce tourism packages with reasonable prices would help.

Deputy Chairman of Cần Thơ City’s People’s Committee Dương Tân Hiền said local tourism revenue had sharply dropped due to the pandemic.

He said the volume of visitors to the city had decreased by 70 percent year-on-year, making revenue fall 62 percent.

“The pandemic is so serious that the international tourism market has not been able to recover. Vietnam Airlines’ reopening of domestic routes connecting Cần Thơ City is very practical. It is also an opportunity to attract investors to the city and its neighboring provinces in the Mekong Delta,” Hiền said.

H’yim Kdok, Deputy Chairwoman of Đắk Lắk People’s Committee, said her province has targeted tourism as a key economic sector in its development process. “Đắk Lắk is ready for investors and visitors from all regions.”

“In order to promote the effectiveness of new air routes, we want tourism sectors of localities to attach importance to co-operation in promoting the tourism potential of each locality, avoiding duplication and supporting each other with destination information, aviation services and tourism culture of each locality,” Kdok said.

She also asked Vietnam Airlines and localities to create conditions for businesses to create more tourism products, which must ensure safety from the COVID-19 outbreak and quality to attract tourists.

Deputy CEO of Vietnam Airlines Lê Hồng Hà said the Mekong Delta is a potential market, which has been invested and developed by the carrier since it opened a branch in Cần Thơ 10 years ago. In this region, the city is a key gateway with seven routes connecting to localities across the country.

“These routes will contribute to the development of regional tourism and economy, especially in the context that the whole country is working together to redevelop tourism and economy in the new normal,” Hà said.

On the same day, Vietnam Airlines signed agreements with all localities having routes linking with Cần Thơ. It also opened three new routes connecting Cần Thơ with Buôn Ma Thuột with a frequency of four return flights per week, Vinh and Hải Phòng with three flights per week each.