Travel firms eye new overland tours

A delegation of representatives from about 60 Vietnamese travel firms is on a trip across Vietnam, Laos and Thailand to develop new overland tours linking the three countries.
Cao Tri Dung, director of domestic travel company Vitours Company Limited, told The Saigon Times Daily the firms would survey attractions in the Central Highlands, southern Laos and northeastern Thailand.
The trip, to conclude on September 24, was organized by Vitours and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
Dung said most of the companies are based in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and would team up with Vitours after the trip to offer new package overland tours for Vietnamese travelers next month.
He estimated the tours, departing from central Vietnam, would last seven to eight days and would be offered at about US$200 to $250 per person.
“The rates are reasonable in the current difficult situation,” Dung said. “Some are 50 percent lower than the existing tours covering destinations in the three countries.”
Dung said the new tours are for Vietnamese and Thai travelers who want to explore Laos and Vietnam.
Vietnam is an emerging destination for Thai travelers, according to TAT’s office in HCMC. About 180,000 Thai travelers visited Vietnam last year, up 20,000 visitors from 2007. A large number of them entered Vietnam via border gates in central Vietnam.