Summer promotions fail to ignite tourism

Despite various sale promotions such as discounts of up to 30-35 per cent for domestic tours and 20 per cent for outbound tours, Vietravel has achieved sales growth of 30 per cent year-on-year, down from the 35 per cent recorded last year.

Vietravel media manager Nguyen Minh Man said the 30 per cent growth partly reflected the actual market situation. He explained many travel firms recorded much lower growth this summer, at 15 per cent or below year-on-year.

Travel companies deemed such growth rates insignificant, and scant reward for the time-sapping programs they launched to boost demand.

Most tour operators said such programs created certain positive impacts on the market but they still didn’t reap rewards they felt they were due.

During the summer of 2012, Vietrantour has reduced tour prices by 40 per cent through an airfare discount program of Vietnam Airlines and 30 per cent through a tourism stimulus program of VietJetAir.

In addition, to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary, Vietrantour has brought down tour prices by between VND100,000 and VND10,000,000 per pax but even that has not attracted buyers who are tightening their spending in this tough time.

Tour operators are praying that their fortune changes for the National Day holiday on September 2 and they can achieve their business plans for 2012.

As such, travel firms have introduced a host of domestic and outbound tours, departing in late August and on September 1 with a variety of promotions.

Vietravel is promoting nearly 100 tours for National Day. Notable tours are the three-day Phu Quoc Island priced at VND6.59 million per guest and the four-day Dalat-Autumn Plateau Color at VND2.99 million a customer.

The highlight of Vietrantour’s plans is Ngay vang gia soc (golden day, shocking prices). Tourists buying tours under the program can save VND3-4 million per person compared to normal days. The five-day tour Kinh ngac Thai Lan (amazing Thailand) is priced at VND7.95 million and the five-day Thai Lan sieu re (supercheap Thailand trip) has a full-package price of VND7.14 million.

Meanwhile, Saigontourist is promoting the cost-saving IKO Travel tours, with 30 per cent discounts for tours to Danang, Hue, Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Halong and Sapa. Specifically, the four-day HCMC-Danang-Hue trip is sold at VND5,955,000 and the HCMC-Hanoi-Ninh Binh-Halong tour is offered at VND7,888,000.