After weeks ofwide-scale promotions for the upcoming Lunar New Year Tet holiday,bookings have suffered a marked decline from last year with travelcompanies noting a poor response from customers, according to a reportin Tuoi tre (The Youth) newpaper.
Travel companiesare "sitting on the fire", the paper said, adding that many intend togive back air tickets at a loss. Big travel companies such asSaigontourist, Vietravel, Ben Thanh and Fiditour have also reportedhaving a lot of vacancies on inbound and outbound tours.
Travel companies began a strong push for Tet travel products lastyear, with a number of companies developing specialised tours. Tet isthe longest and the most important annual festival in Vietnam, duringwhich people rush from every corner of the country back home for familyreunion.
At Ben Thanh Tourist, a tour to Thailandfrom January 1 to February 7, departing daily and priced from 10.365million VND per person (including vouchers of Thai massage, lunchbuffet, and other expenses), failed to reach the required 16 bookingsfor the 20 group package, according to a company representative.
This time last year, the tour was well on the way to closing bookings.
Tran Doan The Duy, deputy general manager of Vietravel, said thepossibility of a demonstration in Bangkok on February 2 had deterred anumber of customers.
Some had called to ask for updates and said they would make the decision later, he said.
Several travel companies have been unwilling to receive deposits orsign contracts with customers out of fear of paying a 200 percentpecuniary penalty for canceling tours.
The head ofoutbound travel at a different Ho Chi Minh City travel company said manyof the company's tours had reached only 70 percent of requiredbookings, well short of bookings made in previous years, while Tran ThiBao Thu, director of Marketing and Communications at Fiditour, said theywere offering a 5-10 percent discount to attract customers to inboundtours.
"We will launch a fifth discount for bookingonline that will available in 24 hours and offer a discount between500,000 to 5 million VND (21-210 USD)," Thu said.
While tour products continue to sell below targets, private travellersare also finding it difficult to book accommodation in locations such asVung Tau, Phan Thiet, Ba Ria, and Phu Quoc.
TranQuoc Viet, director of VN Travel, said rooms had been booked previouslyby travel companies who earn commissions on reselling rooms to travelcompanies.
Many travel companies have admitted thatthis has made it difficult to sell inbound tours to Phu Quoc and NhaTrang, and left them holding hundreds of unsold air tickets.
Tran Van Long, general director of Vietravel Company, said his companywas struggling to find customers for around 300 air tickets to Phu Quocfor the Tet period.
"If we can't sell them in the next few days, we will absorb the loss of returning these tickets," Long said.
Tran The Dung, deputy director of The He Tre (Young Generation) travelcompany, said although travel companies were offering severalpromotions for inbound tours, outbound tour prices had been lesscompetitive.
"High air fares are a big reason for customers avoiding inbound tours," she said.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, a representative of Ben Thanh Tourist agreed thenumber of outbound tourists had outnumbered inbound travellers also dueto a lack of innovation in inbound tours.
Expertsare predicting travel companies will ultimately dispose of air ticketsand rooms at a low price before the upcoming Tet holiday.-VNA
Travel companiesare "sitting on the fire", the paper said, adding that many intend togive back air tickets at a loss. Big travel companies such asSaigontourist, Vietravel, Ben Thanh and Fiditour have also reportedhaving a lot of vacancies on inbound and outbound tours.
Travel companies began a strong push for Tet travel products lastyear, with a number of companies developing specialised tours. Tet isthe longest and the most important annual festival in Vietnam, duringwhich people rush from every corner of the country back home for familyreunion.
At Ben Thanh Tourist, a tour to Thailandfrom January 1 to February 7, departing daily and priced from 10.365million VND per person (including vouchers of Thai massage, lunchbuffet, and other expenses), failed to reach the required 16 bookingsfor the 20 group package, according to a company representative.
This time last year, the tour was well on the way to closing bookings.
Tran Doan The Duy, deputy general manager of Vietravel, said thepossibility of a demonstration in Bangkok on February 2 had deterred anumber of customers.
Some had called to ask for updates and said they would make the decision later, he said.
Several travel companies have been unwilling to receive deposits orsign contracts with customers out of fear of paying a 200 percentpecuniary penalty for canceling tours.
The head ofoutbound travel at a different Ho Chi Minh City travel company said manyof the company's tours had reached only 70 percent of requiredbookings, well short of bookings made in previous years, while Tran ThiBao Thu, director of Marketing and Communications at Fiditour, said theywere offering a 5-10 percent discount to attract customers to inboundtours.
"We will launch a fifth discount for bookingonline that will available in 24 hours and offer a discount between500,000 to 5 million VND (21-210 USD)," Thu said.
While tour products continue to sell below targets, private travellersare also finding it difficult to book accommodation in locations such asVung Tau, Phan Thiet, Ba Ria, and Phu Quoc.
TranQuoc Viet, director of VN Travel, said rooms had been booked previouslyby travel companies who earn commissions on reselling rooms to travelcompanies.
Many travel companies have admitted thatthis has made it difficult to sell inbound tours to Phu Quoc and NhaTrang, and left them holding hundreds of unsold air tickets.
Tran Van Long, general director of Vietravel Company, said his companywas struggling to find customers for around 300 air tickets to Phu Quocfor the Tet period.
"If we can't sell them in the next few days, we will absorb the loss of returning these tickets," Long said.
Tran The Dung, deputy director of The He Tre (Young Generation) travelcompany, said although travel companies were offering severalpromotions for inbound tours, outbound tour prices had been lesscompetitive.
"High air fares are a big reason for customers avoiding inbound tours," she said.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, a representative of Ben Thanh Tourist agreed thenumber of outbound tourists had outnumbered inbound travellers also dueto a lack of innovation in inbound tours.
Expertsare predicting travel companies will ultimately dispose of air ticketsand rooms at a low price before the upcoming Tet holiday.-VNA
