Domestic travel up despite downturn

      Travel industry executives attribute a fall in the number of foreign tourists in large part to the global economic crisis rather than the swine flu scare.
While the number of foreigners visiting the ancient town of Hoi An has dropped by 20 per cent so far this year, that of visitors from other provinces rose by 30 per cent over the same period last year.
They also add that domestic travel has picked up some of the slack, riding on a nationwide tourism promotion campaign that has offered significant service discounts.
While the number of foreigners visiting the ancient town of Hoi An has dropped by 20 per cent so far this year, that of visitors from other provinces rose by 30 per cent over the same period last year, said Vo Phung, director of Hoi An’s Culture and Sports Centre.
The 20 per cent drop applies roughly to all tourist destinations in the central region, leading to shrinking revenues, according to tour companies.
"The drop is largely caused by the economic recession, while the swine flu outbreak has had very limited impact," Phung said.
According to some Ha Noi-based travel agencies like RedTours and VinaTour, the number of foreign guests to Viet Nam has stabilised over the last few months, even amidst the high alert on the H1N1 virus.
Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy director of Red Tours, said that his company had welcomed 200 foreign visitors during the peak time of the flu alert.
However, the industry is keeping a close watch on the outbreak and is still concerned about its possible repercussions.
"Although the number of inbound tours is yet to drop further given that they were booked several months ago, future bookings are likely to fall," said Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Fiditour’s marketing director.
Hoang Thuy Linh, a marketing executive at Saigontourist, is worried that the tourist influx into the country will suffer a setback if the world fails to contain the swine flu.
However, "robust domestic travel can partly offset the drop of foreign tourists", said Cao Tri Dung, Vitour director.
During the four-day holiday at the beginning of this month, visitors from the other provinces flocked to the beach town of Nha Trang, resulting in a 17 per cent surge in the number of guests compared to same period last year, local officials said.
All flights to Nha Trang were fully booked during that time and a large number of guests failed to get a ticket.
Lu Hung, director of the Huong Giang Hotel in Hue, attributed this surge in domestic travel to a round of promotions and discounts offered by tour operators.
In the meantime, many outbound visitors, especially to countries that have been affected by H1N1 virus like Mexico, the US, the UK, Spain and Portugal, have decided to cancel or delay their departure, said Hoan, Redtour’s deputy director.
"They are opting for countries in Southeast Asia instead," he added.