The tourism associations of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City signed an
agreement on a joint 2013 tourism promotion programme on April 20.
Under the agreement, which was reached within the framework of the
2013 Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM 2013) in Hanoi, reduced air
fares between HCM City and Hanoi will be offered by the
national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the low-cost carrier Vietjet
Air.
The two associations will also mobilise
relevant culture and tourism agencies in the southern and northern
regions to reduce service prices, and ask travel agents to offer 30
percent discounts on package tours.
The HCM City
Tourism Association has reached an agreement with Vietnam Airlines to
offer flights from HCM City to Hanoi , Da Nang , Nha Trang and
Phu Quoc at fares up to 58 percent lower than the standard ticket price.
Meanwhile, Vietjet Air offered 10,000 air tickets 49 percent lower than
their usual cost.
According to Vu The Binh, Deputy
Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, cooperation between the two
associations will open a new avenue for their tourism sectors, and
improve the national tourism industry.
It will also facilitate tourists who travel from the north to the south and vice versa, he added.
According
to the VITM 2013 organising board, travel agents attending the mart
have sold out of domestic summer tours by offering a 20 percent price
reduction.
In the first quarter of 2013, Ho Chi
Minh City welcomed more than 1 million foreign tourists, a
year-on-year increase of 8 percent, earning 20.6 billion VND, a rise of
20 percent over the same period last year. The capital city has so far
welcomed 634,000 foreign tourists this year, up 9.8 percent over the
same period last year.-VNA