More Vietnamese choose `free and easy’ tours

Vietnamese tourists, who in the past preferred the security and social aspect of package tours, are increasingly choosing independent travel, known in the industry as “free and easy” tours.
Mostly offered by airlines and travel agencies, the “free and easy” tours usually include air tickets, accommodation and airport transfers. The packages give tourists the freedom to choose the attractions they want to visit instead of being subjected to a schedule set by the tour operator and policed by a tour guide.
Travelers can research their destinations and design their own itineraries.
Free and easy tours were originally targeted at business travelers, students, experienced travelers and those with foreign language skills, Tu Van va Tieu Dung (Consultant and Consumer) magazine reported.
But the flexibility and affordable cost of “free and easy” tours is now attracting a wider variety of travelers, including families.
U.S. carrier United Airlines is offering a one-night “free and easy” tour to Hong Kong, which includes accommodation in a three-star hotel and flights from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, for US$280. Booking the flights and accommodation independently would cost at least $400.
Travel agents are also offering “free and easy” three-day two-night vacations in Thailand, staying in a three-star hotel, at only $169 each person.
Similar flight and accommodation packages to Singapore are on offer for $229 and to Malaysia for $159. Packages to the ancient Cambodian temple city of Siem Reap are available for about $300.
The tours are not yet as popular with tourists from Europe, the U.S., South Korea and Japan, possibly because they have to pay extra for visas. Vietnamese travelers, as citizens of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) do not need a visa to travel within the bloc.
Local tour operators and hoteliers have also joined forces to create “free and easy” deals to popular domestic tourist destinations, including the Central Highlands city of Dalat, the resort city of Nha Trang, southern Phu Quoc Island and the “ancient town” of Hoi An.
A four-day trip to the tropical paradise of Phu Quoc, which include air tickets, airport transfers and three nights at a three-star hotel, can cost as little as VND6.7 million ($397) per person for two travelers.
Other special deals include flights and three days accommodation at the luxury Vinpearl resort on an island off Nha Trang for VND6.65 million ($389) per person.