HCM CITY — Tourism businesses are promoting products and services to connect with various modes of transportation, from cars and trains to airplanes.This new direction is being promoted in domestic tourism to increase competitiveness by reducing dependence on air travel.The price of air tickets is predicted to remain high due to the shortage of airplanes in the aviation industry.Phạm Quý Huy, Director of Kiwi Travel Company, stated that he recently checked for flights between HCM City and Hà Nội in early June 2024, and the prices are still very high, around VNĐ5.5 million per round trip.With these high airfare prices, it is difficult to lower domestic tour prices to stimulate domestic demand during the summer.Even during the current off-peak season of domestic tourism, airfares remain high, making it challenging to offer discounted rates to travel companies and passengers as before.Therefore, instead of focusing on promoting tourism as before and boosting connections between HCM City and provinces, travel agencies are now doing the opposite, trying every means to attract visitors to the city.According to Nguyễn Thị Khánh, Chairwoman of the HCM City Tourism Association, domestic tourism is facing competition in terms of prices, product quality, and services.To cope with the increasing airfare prices, companies are pivoting to develop new tour routes focusing on high-quality bus tours for short distances while combining air travel with trains and buses.Many flexible companies are boosting short-distance tours from HCM City to destinations in the Southeast such as Tây Ninh or provinces in the Mekong Delta, and to Phan Thiết, Nha Trang, and Phú Yên.Along with buses, tours also combine train travel, air travel, or vice versa, providing more options and cost reductions for tourists.The association is collaborating with localities such as Tây Ninh, Bình Dương, and Đồng Nai to create more attractive road tours for tourists, Khánh said.Changing the habit of booking "last-minute" toursAccording to Lê Trương Hiền Hoà, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Tourism, the city's tourism industry has been working with airlines and aviation management agencies to spread information and propose timely solutions to support companies in the industry.The high airfare prices are related to the aviation industry's difficulties due to a shortage of airplanes, so some possible solutions include increasing flight frequencies and adding night flights.For tourism companies, diversifying transportation and not entirely relying on airplanes is encouraged by local authorities.Travel companies recommend tourists change the habit of booking "last-minute" tours for domestic travel because the closer to the departure time, the higher the airfare prices.Phạm Anh Vũ, director of Communications at Việt Travel Company, said that if customers change their habits to book tours two to three months in advance, book as a family or group of friends, or reserve in advance, they will get significantly lower prices. (ICE HO CHI MINH CITY)

Fonte notizia: Vietnam News