Travalers visit Phú Quốc island in Kiên Giang Province. — VNS Photo Thu Hằng

HCM CITY — Travel firms have launched a variety of tours as the busy summer travel season begins.

Tour bookings are expected to surge by 10-15 per cent and tour fares by 5-10 per cent, according to travel firms.

Trần Đoàn Thế Duy, deputy general director of Vietravel, said that tours costing VNĐ7-12 million (US$230-513) have attracted more customers.

“Tour costs remain one of the big concerns of customers,” Duy said. “Most customers search for information about destinations and tour services online before heading to tour operators for booking.”

Vietravel plans to spend VNĐ12.5 billion ($534,300) for promotions with a target of attracting 285,000 customers this summer.

Trần Thế Dũng, deputy director of Thế Hệ Trẻ Travel, said summer is an ideal time for traveling anywhere in the country and tour operators have designed tours offering new travel experiences for customers.

Tours with a price of VNĐ10-11 million ($427-470) for five to six days are favoured by young and middle-aged customers.

Trần Thị Bảo Thu, marketing and communications director of Fiditour, said the company began planning new tour products, especially domestic tours, at the end of last year.

Many summer tours to popular destinations are designed for Free & Easy travelers.

Tour operators said it is difficult to offer stable tour fares during busy travel season when air fares and prices of hospitality services surge.

Entertainment, shopping and food and beverage services at some destinations have failed to develop in line with the development of hotels and resorts, Thu said.

Từ Quý Thành, director of Liên Bang Travelink, said promotion programmes for domestic tours are not as attractive as outbound tours, resulting in an increase in sale of outbound tours.

Tour fares to South Korea, for example, fell to VNĐ12-13 million ($512-555) this year from VNĐ16-17 million ($683-726) last year due to a drop in air fares and incentive policies for tour groups of 40 people and above, he said. — VNS