Tourists change destination from Thailand to Vietnam

Some travel firms say they have recently received requests about fees and contracts to serve international tourists who previously planned to visit Thailand but then decided to come to Vietnam instead.
Nguyen Duc Chi, deputy head of the travel division under the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that a travel firm in HCMC was preparing to serve around 1,400 American tourists in April. Those tourists at first planned to travel to Thailand, but have later changed decision to avoid political chaos there.
According to other travel firms in HCMC, foreign partners now ask for information about service fees more frequently and make more bookings. Some partners said they wanted to find new destinations to replace Thailand.
Tu Quy Thanh, director of Lien Bang Travelink, said that his company has received requests for information about service fees for 14 international tourist groups in the past three weeks.
Nguyen Minh Quyen, deputy head of Ben Thanh Tourist’s travel service center, said the company has recently joined a travel mart in the Netherlands and finds that German and Dutch tourists are now more interested in Vietnam. Thailand is facing months-long political instability which caused tourists to change their destinations and Vietnam is one among the chosen destinations.
“The booth of Thailand used to attract a high number of visitors but the number is fewer this year. There are more visitors visiting the booths of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia with more bookings,” Quyen said.
Hoang Thi Phong Thu, chairwoman of Anh Duong Co., said that her foreign partner Pegas Touristik normally took around one million Russian tourists to Egypt and some 500,000 tourists to Thailand. When there is instability, it will seek new destinations and Vietnam will benefit, she added.