Local residents look for summer tours at a travel agency. Photo courtesy of nld.com.vn

HCM CITY  An increasing number of tourists during the summer has helped revive the market, but tourism agencies need further support for better recovery.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is under better control, locals’ tourism demand has witnessed positive growth recently.

Tân Sơn Nhất Airport in HCM City recently has seen many groups of tourists checking in for flights to Hà Nội, Phú Quốc, Đà Nẵng and provinces in the northeastern and northwestern region.

Traveller Nguyễn Thị Hoa from Ninh Thuận Province booked her 5-day, 4-night tour from HCM City to Hà Nội three weeks in advance since she said she felt “safe enough”.

“After a long while staying in, I decided to go on an adventure to Hà Giang, in addition to a tour to Tây Nguyên that I had already booked several weeks ago. As the epidemic is under control, I will plan another trip to the Mekong Delta soon,” she said.

According to TSTtourist Company, the number of tour bookings has significantly increased recently. In April, the company hosted 3,000 arrivals and has received nearly 2,000 tourists who have booked tours in May.

Communication director of TSTtourist Company Nguyễn Minh Mẫn said the month of April has been a good start for vibrant tourism activities during the upcoming summer. Many travel agencies and authorities across many provinces and cities have been preparing new tourism products.

Director of the marketing department of Saigontourist Travel Company Đoàn Thị Thanh Trà added that Phú Quốc, Đà Nẵng and cities in the North are among the most popular destinations in the summer.

Tours to Đà Lạt and Buôn Mai Thuột - Kon Tum have been embraced as well.

“In addition to restoring the entire domestic travel itinerary, the company has increased the number of possible departure days for the entire itinerary. Summer tours and departure days have been updated to August 2021 for easy selection and flexible schedule. The company also plans to increase seats by 20 per cent for all tours compared to last year,” she said.

Meanwhile, according to Fiditour - Vietluxtour Travel Company, besides the April 30 holiday and upcoming summer tours offered at very good prices, the company is looking forward to sales from the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) market at resorts and hotels.

There have been a high number of contracts from large groups with sales from VNĐ1 billion per booking, said the communication director of the company, Trần Thị Bảo Thu.

The popular destinations in this market are Côn Đảo, Phú Quốc, Phan Thiết, Quy Nhơn, Phú Yên, Đà Nẵng, Đà Lạt, and Vũng Tàu.

Further support

Leaders of many travel agencies expect that with more vaccinations being given across the country, the tourism market will recover in the second quarter of 2021.

This year’s holiday tour prices have fallen by 5 to 20 per cent compared to the same period last year. However, tourists are travelling mostly in groups of family and friends and choosing safe tourism products and services.

Vietravel is planning a summer promotion programme to increase the benefits for both solo travellers and those who travel in groups.

According to Fiditour - Vietluxtour Travel Company, it is essential to come up with effective linkage programmes between aviation, travel, hotel and destination services to create leverage for the tourism market.

Vietravel has coordinated with Hà Giang Province to create quality tourism programmes and will further work with other provinces to prepare attractive tours during the summer.

As for the “vaccine passport” now under consideration, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam has asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to work with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and other authorities to propose the best policies and solutions to support travel agencies and remove their difficulties. VNS