Restaurants target World Cup fans

Few Vietnamese people will go to South Africa for the World Cup Championship. Therefore, bia hoi (draft beer) shops and restaurants hope to earn big money by attracting customers who come to drink beer and watch football matches.
Few will depart for South Africa
On June 10, 2010, 20 clients of Vietravel will leave for South Africa, where the World Cup championships will take place. On June 16, two more groups of 17 tourists, clients of Fiditour, plus 45 other tourists who are clients of Saigontourist, will also set off.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, PR Director of Fiditour, revealed that Fiditour is seeking tourists to form another group to leave for South Africa on June 24-July 1 to watch the quarterfinals. To date, only a handful have registered.
Saigontourist has only one group going to South Africa, while Vietravel also has no plan for other trips. Some 80 people have registered to go to South Africa, but they are still not definite.
Deputy Director of Thanh Nien Xung Phong travel firm, Nguyen Minh Quyen, reported that a group of 20 people planned to go Africa, but they have changed their mind and decided to travel elsewhere because of the overly high tour fee.
Mai explained that tours to South Africa do not attract many people mostly because of the overly high price, from 70 million to 90 million dong per traveler. Meanwhile, the prices of tickets to attend football matches are also very high, about $4000 for the World Cup finale.
To date, only firms in southern Vietnam have organized tours to South Africa.
Restaurants prepare for World Cup crowds
Since fans will be in Vietnam for the World Cup season, restaurant owners believe they can profit.
Nguyen Minh Khuong, Manager of Phu Dong restaurant in Hanoi, will install a 100 inch screen and have 42 inch TVs on different floors to serve fans. Khuong hopes that, since the football matches will start around 6-7pm, the number of customers will increase by 50 percent. Phu Dong will give free bottles of beer to big drinkers.
A representative of Hoa Vien Bia Hoi shop on Tang Bat Ho street in Hanoi reported that the shop will install a 50 inch screen for the games and they will also recruit more waiters. Hoa Vien will also charge a 10 percent service fee from early May to the end of World Cup championship.
Legend Beer, which always serves soccer fans, has a 150-300 inch screen already. The restaurant chain has already given customers match schedules as gifts.
In HCM City, restaurants plan many entertainment options during the World Cup season starting in early June.