"Rediscover Vietnam” is co-held by Thien Minh Group and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines for travel promotion in Australia. (Photo: VNA)Sydney (VNA)– The Government of Vietnam has reopened its borders to welcome travellers fromAustralia, New Zealand and other countries to Vietnam, Vietnamese AmbassadorNguyen Tat Thanh told a trade and travel promotion conference in Australia onJune 28.
Called “RediscoverVietnam”, the event was co-held by Thien Minh Group and national flag carrierVietnam Airlines, with more than 80 travel firms and tour operators acrossAustralia in attendance.
It was the last of a series of travel promotion events held in multiple countries, including the UK,Germany, France, the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Thanh said the numberof Australian arrivals in Vietnam and vice versa hit a record high of 600,000in 2019 before the COVID-19 broke out globally. Given that the two countriesestablished a Strategic Partnership in 2018 and bilateral ties continued togrow despite the pandemic, travel between Vietnam and Australia will be on arise and surpass pre-pandemic records in the coming years, he said.
The Vietnamesediplomat pledged to provide all possible conditions for Australian travellersand travel agencies to gain access to the Vietnamese market and explore theSoutheast Asian country.
According to TruongTran Ngoc Hung from Vietnam Airlines, shortly after Vietnam reopened the borders, the carrierhas resumed regular flights to 15 international destinations, includingAustralia.
The airline isoperating seven direct flights connecting Vietnam and Australia weekly. Thenumber of flights will be increased to 11 in July and 16 in October, he added.
He noted that thetravel demand between the two countries has risen quickly with seat occupancy ataround 87% on average, 8% higher than pre-COVID-19.
Rebecca George, MarketManager Australia at SLC Representation, said Australia has seen surgingsearches for tours to Vietnam. Australian travellers have been increasingly interestedin Vietnam and want to make it their next destination.
Vietnam’s easing of COVID-19control measures will help its tourism industry gain advantages over othercountries, she said./.
