Vu The Binh, Director of the Department of Travel under VNAT, said that VNAT has reached a common voice with the Ministry of Industry and Trade for joint promotion programs for local guests at shopping centers, supper markets, restaurants, hotels, and other venues in key cities. The VNAT expects to run the program during two months.

Detailed contents of the program will be announced after meetings between the VNAT with the departments of industry and trade of HCMC, Hanoi and Danang cities.

“VNAT and the ministry have agreed to run the program in these tourism centers. Both foreign and local guests will receive benefits from the program but domestic people will benefit much more from this,” Binh said.

According to the VNAT’s report, while the number of foreign visitors fell nearly 11% in 2009 to just over 3.8 million, the number of local travelers shot up 20% to some 25 million, which helped spur the country’s hospitality industry during tough times last year.

Over 21,000 people have received discounted air tickets from the “Impressive Vietnam” program to travel last year while many others have received other promotional services.

The agency in a meeting in Hanoi last week to review the “Impressive Vietnam” program changed its viewpoint to see the domestic travel segment as the base for tourism development. VNAT said that it would continue to speed up the growth of the sector and to encourage more local people to travel, and expected to receive around 28 million domestic tourists this year.

Regarding new promotions for domestic travelers this year, Binh said that Vietnam Airlines had agreed with the tourism sector to launch soft air fares for these tourists in this summer and other big holidays of the country in 2010.

Local tour operators have also seen the domestic market segment as the niche for their growth and are thinking more programs to attract visitors. Dozens of travel firms in HCMC are discussing methods for launching next joint programs to lower prices and improve tour quality for domestic travelers.

“We are thinking over methods to cut down cost, and continue to team up with one another to offer good prices from services providers for our tourists,” said Tran The Dung, Deputy Head of the Local Tourism Group that was set up under the “Impressive Vietnam” program.

He said that via the “Impressive Vietnam” program, some 40 members of the group have sold promotion package tours to 14,000 Vietnamese people last year, and are discussing how to join hands to launch new domestic tours this year.

“We will have a meeting after the Lunar New Year 2010 holiday for further discussions,” Dung said.