Vietnam satisfied with the kick-off of 2010 tourist season

Travel firms have reported good signs for the 2010 tourist season, believing that the number of foreign tourists will increase considerably. The Vietnam National Tourism Administration (VNAT) will open representative offices in five key tourist markets to promote travel to Vietnam.
Guests from famous ships
In the first two months of 2010 alone, Vietnam’s two largest travel companies that specialize in cruise guests, Viet Excursion and Saigontourism, received 20,000 guests from Europe and Asia.
Viet Excursion’s Chair Le Din Tuan revealed that as of early March 2010, the company had contracts for all of 2011 and 2012 to guide guests from the largest cruise ships in the tourism industry.
In the first weeks of February 2010, the Queen Mary 2, one of the two largest cruise ships, docked at PSA Phu My port in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, bringing 2,504 foreign tourists, plus their crew of 1,200, to experience Vietnam.
Tuan said that the majority of tourists travel at the luxury level, coming from Germany, the US, Australia and Canada. Some asked to hire luxury six-door cars (at a rate of $2,000 per day), so that they could enjoy excursions around HCM City during their time in port.
Others that will arrive in Vietnam with assistance by Viet Excursion include the Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth 2, Aurora, and Seaborne Pride. These ships assure guests that Vietnam is a safe and attractive destination.
Saigontourist received 14,000 cruise guest in the first two months of 2010. Le Quang Thang, a senior executive, revealed that this year for the first time, Portuguese Classic International Cruises brought the high quality cruise liner, Athena, to Vietnam. This has paved the way for a planned series of return trips. In March 2010, the company will welcome the five-star ships, Columbus and Costa Allegra.
Viet Excursion was chosen by US ResidenSea as one of the 10 best tour service providers for 2009, surpassing rival Singaporean and Thai companies.
More air routes, more flights to Vietnam
Tan Son Nhat airport customs office noted that during Tet, approximately 10,000 people entered Vietnam daily, higher than the same period of 2009. Air carriers all reported full capacity on their flights. Vietnam Airlines, anticipating the high demand of travelers, has increased its number of flights between Vietnam and traditional markets.
By the end of March, Vietnam Airlines will double flights from HCM City to Tokyo (from seven to 14 per week), raise the number of flights from Noi Bai/HCM City to four Japanese cities to 43 flights per week, handling 50 percent of the air transportation market from Japan to Vietnam.
In addition, Vietnam Airlines plans to open an air route from Shanghai to Vietnam in 2010 in order to serve Chinese passengers.
Deputy Director of HCM City Culture, Sports and Tourism, La Quoc Khanh, explained that he realized the demand for travel to Vietnam is big from the northeastern neighbors. Due to Khanh’s efforts, travel firms have signed many contracts with partners in these countries.
“A lot of resorts have sold out all their rooms for the coming months within several days,” Khanh observed, adding that northeastern neighbors now choose Vietnam instead of Thailand and Malaysia for their winter holiday.