Oct
22
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Cua Van fishing village - one of the most beautiful village in Halong bay
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Cua Van village in Ha Long Bay has been recognized as one of the most beautiful villages around the world by Journeyetc.com, a travel blog that provide useful guidance on and latest information about the travel market.
In a recent article featuring the world’s 16 exceptionally charming villages, Journeyetc.com said tourists will be amazed at the historical sites and the cobble stone streets of the village.
It is definitely one of the most scenic around the world, it said, advising visitors to admire the majestic lime stone hills of Ha Long Bay, take photos of the floating fishing village and colorful raft houses, and immerse themselves in the rustic lifestyle of Cua Van.
Also in the blog’s list are beautiful villages in Switzerland, New Mexico, Italy, Tunisia, Japan, France, Czech Republic, Turkey, England, Hawaii, Georgia, Canada, Indonesia, Bermuda, and Chile./.
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Oct
20
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Tet air fares go ahead
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VietNamNet Bridge – Air travel during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday will become more expensive as of today, when domestic airlines go ahead with a planned price hike.
A representative of the Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam confirmed to the newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourer) that it had received the proposal of airfare increases from carriers Viet Nam Airlines, Air Mekong and VietJet Air.
The highest jump from Viet Nam Airlines is VND50,000 (US$2.40) per trip, while its Ha Noi – HCM City one-way ticket will rise by VND20,000 ($0.90) to VND2.67 million ($128), not including 10 per cent VAT (value-added tax) and the VND44,000 ($2.11) airport fee.
Previously, Jetstar Pacific also increased its prices by about VND60,000 ($2.87) per one-way ticket.
Both Air Mekong and VietjetAir have also sent outline proposals to hike their airfares by 3-4 per cent.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Ministry of Finance's Department of Price Management, said the price hike of 3-4 per cent remains below the regulated ceiling price and consequently the department did not reject their proposals.
Thus, airlines were allowed to automatically apply new prices after five days of submitting the proposal under the current regulation, Tuan said.
According to Decision No 2967/QD-BTC issued in December 2011 by the Ministry of Finance, airfares are allowed to increase by a maximum of 20 per cent and the highest price for the Ha Noi – HCM City route is capped at VND3.4 million ($163) per one way ticket (excluding taxes and charges) and VND4 million ($191) per one-way ticket on the longest route for Ha Noi – Phu Quoc.
However, in order to protect passengers, the Civil Aviation Administration asked airlines not to increase fairs in excess of VND2.72 million ($130) and VND3.43 million ($164) per one-way ticket applied to the aforementioned routes.
Despite that, the administration admitted the airlines have the right to rise prices up to the ceiling level. If so, the price of return tickets for a Ha Noi – HCM City flight with taxes will cost VND7.6 million ($364) and Ha Noi – Phu Quoc tickets will reach more than VND8.8 million ($421).
According to market insiders, the domestic aviation industry saw negative growth this year given the economic downturn, therefore fare increases at this time could exceed the passengers' budget, meaning airlines would likely witness a decrease in customers.
Carriers are used to raising airfares during the two high seasons of summer and Tet holiday to regulate supply and demand. However, rising fuel prices this year have seen oil at times exceeding $120 per barrel while the Ministry of Finance has not decreased its import tax could cause financial difficulty for the airlines and force them to increase travel prices.
Last year, ticket prices increased twice: firstly in April and then before Tet holiday with an increase of about 10 per cent each time.
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Oct
20
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Review some of tour operators
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VietNamNet Bridge – Travel firms last Friday informed their foreign partners of higher domestic airfares applicable from Monday, while they are seeking ways to cope with the price hike at a time when the local tourism industry is still struggling.
Tour operators said the increases were out of the blue and it has given them little time to prepare tour plans and inform foreign partners. This has been the fourth airfare hike this year, with each flight marked up tens of thousands of dong.
Bui Viet Thuy Tien, managing director of Asian Trails Co. Ltd., sighed as she said airfares would be raised on Monday. International visitors to Vietnam on tours operated by the company often choose Hanoi-Danang or HCMC-Danang trips, and some may travel to other destinations like Phu Quoc and Nha Trang.
Similar to previous airfare increases, airlines informed tour operators just a few days before the price hike, so travel firms have to suffer losses on tours already sold to their partners.
“As each flight marks up VND55,000, we incur a loss of VND110,000 per round trip. With this price increase, our company must cover losses for 2,200 customers who already booked tours, which total around VND242 million, not including those buying more tickets to other destinations,” she said.
Tien was not happy with the sudden airfare hike. Foreign partners also complained because they had to cut profits to make up for the price increase.
A local company like Asian Trails, if after air tickets with the old prices, must advance a large sum of money to carriers to obtain tickets before new prices are applicable. “This is impossible because we don’t have this huge sum, so we have to suffer the losses,” she said.
Similar to Asian Trails, Indochina Services Travel Group last Friday updated their foreign partners on new domestic airfares.
In addition to an airfare increase, many passenger transport firms, especially those operating in the central region, have also announced a price hike of 4-6%, effective this month. Boat service fees in Ha Long Bay have also been raised, giving the travel company a headache.
“It is fortunate that some foreign customers have not bought complete tour packages with domestic airfares, but as for tours including all services, it is a headache. We often sell tours one year in advance, but now all services from air, road to boat travel mark up, which can only mean losses for us,” said Phuong Dung, director of Indochina Services Travel Group.
Some domestic tour operators in HCMC said that although airfares are increased, they will not raise tour prices as the purchasing power is weak now.
Some said they will further cut profits to make up for higher airfares, while others said they will find other ways, such as selecting tickets with slight price increases.
Pham Duc Hoa, deputy manager of the Domestic Travel Department of Saigontourist, said his company decided not to raise tour prices but focus on low-price tours to attract tourists.
“Prices of all tickets are increased, but some mark up lower than the others. For example, a two-way HCMC-Phu Quoc ticket is priced at VND3 million, but there are lower prices for the same flight with stricter requirements for departure and return dates and higher penalties for ticket cancellation, but we will try to guarantee the number of passengers to offer customers the best prices,” he said.
According to some travel firms in HCMC, the low-cost airfares for online bookings of Vietnam Airlines and VietJetAir attracted many customers.
The more airfares pick up, the more customers join such promotion programs. Tourists only need to spend money on hotels, transport and entrance fees, but travel firms suffer a cut in revenue.
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The hotel oversupply anticipation
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20/10/2012 08:49:24
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Next year, a lot of co - organise various cultural activities between Vietnam and Bulgaria
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20/10/2012 08:46:22
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Should or should not develop medical tourism
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20/10/2012 08:43:10
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Khanh Hoa province considers to install cameras to prevent crime
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20/10/2012 08:39:10
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Luxury cruise ship will be introduced by Royal Caribean
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20/10/2012 08:32:57
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Hue host seminar discusses community tourism services
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20/10/2012 08:30:27
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Concentrate on promoting Vietnam’s tourism in Australia
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20/10/2012 08:28:37
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Welcomes Hanoi Gift Show 2012
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20/10/2012 08:26:55
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Ha Giang prrovince and growth in tourism
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20/10/2012 08:24:59
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