Tourist firms anxious about electricity price increases

      Enterprises in the tourism industry have been trying to slash tour fees to stimulate the demand. However, the input costs have been increasing, including the electricity, petrol and railway fares, making the efforts become insignificant, according to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang.
On April 9, Thang said at a workshop on tourism that the ministry has called on enterprises in the tourism sector to slash tour fees as responding to the Government’s demand stimulus campaign.
In early January of this year, 37 big travel firms, 61 three to five-star hotels, three carriers and 14 shops agreed to join forces to run the tourism promotion program “Impressive Vietnam,” which offers between 30-50% in fee reductions for 99 tours, aiming to attract more international travelers and encourage domestic travel.
Therefore, though the number of travelers decreased by 18% in the first three months of the year, there is still good news that the number of tourists coming to tourist centres like Ha Long Bay and the central region increased.
Thang said that there lacks the cooperation between relevant ministries to ensure the success of the promotion programs.
“The unreasonable new peak hour pricing policy is an example,” Thang said.
The Electricity of Vietnam charged almost double the normal cost if businesses use electricity during peak hours between 9:30am and 11:30am and between 6:00pm and 8:00pm. Meanwhile, the time between 6:00pm and 8:00pm is the main ‘production time’ of hotels. Besides, the railway fares to tourist sites have always been raised. The petrol price has been raised by VND 500/litre.
“We feel worried about the success of the tourism promotion program, though we know that the prices need to be defined by the market,” Thang said.
Currently, the commodity prices have been floating which are defined by the market’s supply and demand. Meanwhile, the state only controls the prices of several key commodities.
Thang has been instating on the close cooperation of relevant ministries and branches to find out a common voice in implementing the Government’s initiated program on stimulating the demand.
Meanwhile, Director of the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Vu The Binh, complained that the majority of vehicles carrying tourists still cannot meet the requirements in quality, while the number of coaches remains very low.
Meanwhile, the tax rates imposed on the vehicles are relatively high, as the vehicles are referred to as consumer products, though the vehicles prove to be the main ‘production material’ of the tourism sector. The high tax rates have made many enterprises unable to import the vehicles.
Thang said that the ministry is collecting information about the factors that have impacts on the industry and it will make proposals to the Government on the solutions to help support the industry.
In the latest news, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Communication and the Ministry of Transport are compiling the draft document on providing services of carrying tourists, which says that tourist buses will be allowed to go into the inner cities for all hours of the day.
The draft document also says that the buses used for carrying tourists must have the mileage of less than 10 years.