Foreign tourism is bustling before Vietnam opens its doors

Vietnamese people are excited to "go abroad"

Recently, two young people Giang Nguyen and Anh Duy had a 10-day self-guided tour of Iran. Giang Nguyen said that the cost of flying from Vietnam to Iran (transit in Dubai) was about 25 million VND/person. In Iran, the couple discovered many local dishes, visited famous destinations such as Persepolis relics, Tabatabai house, Golestan palace, Naqsh-e Jahan square (Isfahan), Nasir al-Mulk mosque...

"Iranian people are very friendly and hospitable. The two of us came here without much preparation, except for plane tickets and visas, but wherever we went, we received enthusiastic help. From the moment we got on the plane, people showed us where to stay and where to eat. We only needed to stand on the street for a moment before people rushed out to talk to us and take us out, invite us to their homes for dinner, and some even left their work to rent a car to take us everywhere" - Giang Nguyen shared.

As the Director of the American Discovery Travel Company, this time Mr. Phung Gia Tuan chose to travel independently after a 2-year hiatus, mainly in the Western United States and Mexico: "Not only does Vietnam have few foreign visitors, but international tourism activities in Japan and the United States have not recovered as before the pandemic. Flights have few passengers and even Japan's leading airports are still deserted, with few shopping and dining services. Although the United States has never closed during the pandemic, there are still few international visitors due to the lack of main sources of visitors from China and Asia; there are not many mass tourism activities or large groups of visitors like before. In general, tourism services in the United States have not changed much compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic; tourist attractions and hotels are mostly domestic guests... This trip brings valuable experiences for me personally and the company to restore US tours in the near future".

Outbound tourism boom

Mr. Ngo Van Thoa, Director of Pan American Travel Company, said that the company has organized many tourist groups to Dubai (UAE) in late February and early March. This is one of the first pure tourist groups from Vietnam to Dubai since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

Joining the Dubai tour at the end of February, Ms. Hue Nghi (Ho Chi Minh City) said that she had wanted to go to Dubai for a long time but had not been able to do so for the past 2 years due to the pandemic. During the trip, she and the group visited Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Burj Al Arab Hotel, Gold Souk, Abu Dhabi Old Town, Dubai Marina, enjoyed coffee and gold-plated cakes... comfortably, without worrying too much about the pandemic.

Currently with Dubai tour, Pan American Travel has 2 fixed departure schedules every week from Hanoi andTPLakeWillBrighton Friday and Saturday. From now until April, this unit has had an average of 15 - 20 guests for each group going to Dubai. Mr. Ngo Van Thoa said that the company will soon open more tours to Mexico, Australia, and England; in which priority is given to Australia and Mexico because of quick visa procedures and stable opening.

"The company chooses destinations with high policy stability and good quarantine conditions such as Dubai, the US, and Canada. These destinations have been open since mid-2021, especially the US has a very open and convenient policy for tourists. As for Dubai, tourism is an important industry, so they have very good policies, especially since 1/3 of tourists have been fully vaccinated and do not need to be tested before flying. There will be more tours to Australia in the near future because the flight is only about 7-9 hours; Mexico is also a new destination, with many unique cultural elements that attract tourists," said Mr. Thoa.

On March 4, Vietravel organized a group of 45 tourists to attend the Dubai World Exhibition - EXPO in the UAE. This company is currently exploiting a series of foreign tourism products to Europe, Australia, the US, Turkey, Cambodia, Thailand, Maldives...; in which, two tourism products to Dubai and Qatar have received much attention. In addition to Dubai, a group of Vietnamese tourists recently went to Gaya (India) after a 2-year hiatus, on a flight organized by Huong Giang Aviation Company in coordination with Indigo Airlines.

Demand for outbound travel is increasing

Ms. Nhu Hoa (Hanoi) felt lucky and happy to have her first overseas trip after 2 years, organized by PYS Travel Company: "What I like most is that after 2 years of keeping my passport in the closet, I can now use it to travel abroad. Coming to Dubai, I got to see with my own eyes, hear with my own ears and directly experience the luxurious, magnificent and grandiose services of the super-rich here... It was a very interesting experience."

Mr. Tran Sy Son - Director of PYS Travel Company said: "Dubai tour is the first foreign tour opened for sale by the company in 2022. The group departing on February 26 was the first group with nearly 20 tourists. In general, the policies in Dubai are quite open, with very simple procedures to attract tourists. Customers only need to provide passport photos and ID photos to quickly apply for an electronic visa. Next, we continue to open tours to Türkiye, Thailand, Bali, India, Nepal".

According to Mr. Son, there are currently many promotional programs to stimulate foreign tourism, such as immediate discounts on tour prices when booking early, discounts for female guests booking tours on the occasion of March 8, free Covid-19 testing or travel insurance with a coverage of 50,000 USD to protect health and treatment if tourists contract Covid-19 abroad.

Mr. Ngo Van Thoa said that Pan American Travel is supporting the price of the first foreign tours, such as paying for 4-star but upgrading to a 5-star hotel and free tour changes if the customer contracts Covid-19 before the departure date: "To convince and help customers confidently travel abroad, the most important thing is to have a flexible policy related to the Covid-19 epidemic. Before the trip, if the customer contracts Covid-19, the company has a policy of changing the date for the customer for free. During the trip, if the customer tests positive, the company has a permanent team at the destination ready to support any problems that arise."

Mr. Tran Sy Son said that the full reopening of tourism from March 15 will be a "golden opportunity" for tourism to recover after 2 years of freezing. This is also an opportunity for travel businesses to exploit the potential international market. "When international tourism opens, the demand for foreign travel from tourists is very high. Tourism promises to be one of the service industries that will break through and grow the most after the Covid-19 pandemic," said Mr. Son.

According to VOV