National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) have banded together to launch a national tourism stimulus program for the remainder of 2020.

Launched on Saturday morning under the name ‘Vietnam Tourism — A Bright Destination,’ the program is the first move made by Vietnam Airlines and VITA in response to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s ‘Vietnamese people travel to Vietnamese destinations’ campaign, aiming at providing passengers with the most complete and secure travel experience.

Under the program, Vietnam Airlines will cooperate with VITA and such travel agencies as HanoiTourist, Saigontourist, Vietrans Tour, Vietravel, and Redtour to offer preferential tour products with attractive discounts of up to 40 percent.

The discounts are applicable to all domestic journeys operated by Vietnam Airlines with departure dates between May 15 and December 31.

More than 150 other enterprises also participate in the program, according to VITA’s vice-chairman Vu The Binh.

Le Hong Ha, deputy general director of Vietnam Airlines, said that aviation and tourism share a close interrelationship as tourists, both domestic and international, make up over 70 percent of the airline’s flyers.

Recently, the national carrier has launched new domestic services between Ho Chi Minh City and Tuy Hoa City in the south-central province of Phu Yen, the northern city of Hai Phong, and Nha Trang City in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa.

A route linking Vinh City in the north-central province of Nghe An with Da Lat City in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong was also recently launched.

In addition to the recovery plan in Vietnam, Vietnam Airlines is also making plans to expand its international operations once the pandemic is better controlled.

The goal is to have attractive products available to boost tourism demand and revitalize Vietnam’s aviation market faster after the pandemic, Ha said.

Apart from Vietnam Airlines, other travel and airline companies are also busy building domestic tours at cheap prices to attract customers after a freeze caused by novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 

Carriers Vietjet Air, Jetstar Pacific and Bamboo Airways have been offering fares as cheap as VND18,000-99,000 ($0.77-4.24) per ticket. 

Meanwhile, travel agencies have rolled out tours, combos, and domestic tourism products at hyper-discounted prices. 

For instance, Saigontourist launched a two-day travel package for two guests from Ho Chi Minh City to Ho Tram in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau for about VND7.2 million ($309).

The prices of three- and four-day packages at 5-star hotels and resorts have also been reduced by 20 to 50 percent compared to regular prices.

Particularly, costs for stays at the famed FLC Quy Nhon Resort in the south-central province of Binh Dinh and Muong Thanh Holiday Dalat hotel in Da Lat start from only VND2.7 million ($116) per pax.

The tourism enterprises believe that while tourism may be one of the industries hardest hit by COVID-19, it has the capacity to recover fast and assist in the recovery of other sectors.

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