|
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) on
Tuesday told local travel companies to suspend tours for Vietnamese tourists to
Thailand’s sites under the threat from floods.
A document signed by Nguyen Manh Cuong, deputy head of VNAT, clarifies the move
was to guarantee safety for Vietnamese travelers. The tourism authority also
suggested those tour operators whose guests are still in Thailand to call the
Vietnamese embassy in that country on 0066818460571 in case of need.
Thailand is the top outbound destination for Vietnamese tourists, as that
country attracted 420,000 travelers from Vietnam last year and more than 417,000
in the first nine months of this year. For this reason, both tour operators and
airlines are keeping a close eye on the flooding situation in Thailand.
A number of Vietnamese travel companies had decided to call off their tours to
Thailand until the situation improves, expected in early November. Of course,
the national tourism body’s decision has cut into revenue of these tour
operators and the airlines that fly between Vietnam and Bangkok.
“Our new bookings during the period we suspend tours to Thailand from October 26
to November 6 are zero and those guests who have already made reservations have
to wait until floods subside in the affected areas in Bangkok,” Nguyen Minh Man
of Vietravel said.
The communications manager Man said Vietravel usually arranged daily tours for
some 100 guests to explore Thailand around this time.
Lai Minh Duy, general director of TST Tourist, said his company would not resume
tours to Thailand until November 10. He said if there were not floods in
Thailand, the company would organize tours for two to three groups of Vietnamese
travelers to Thailand every week.
Duy said each group had more than 10 people. He confirmed to the Daily that all
TST Tourist guests had come back to Vietnam and that the company had canceled
airfare bookings for the flights before November 10 but still reserve seats on
the flights afterwards.
Vietnam Airlines, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways
and Thai AirAsia currently conduct flights from Bangkok to Vietnam and vice
versa and still maintain their service frequencies despite the impact of
cancellations from tour operators in Vietnam.
Thai Airways International confirmed its daily flights from Bangkok to HCMC and
Hanoi even though the carrier saw a drop of 15% in occupancy or higher as
passengers had either canceled or postponed their departure until further
notice. The airline said passengers were allowed to change flights and dates of
departure without any charge until December 15.
Qatar Airways has also reported booking cancellations due to the floods in
Thailand but still operates its normal flights between Vietnam and Qatar via
Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
National flagship Vietnam Airlines did not reveal the impact of tour
cancellations on its flights from HCMC and Hanoi to Bangkok but confirmed its
normal daily services on these routes.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said the flooding in Thailand was mainly
hitting the central provinces along the Chao Phraya River including Bangkok and
Ayutthaya. Other popular tourist destinations Pattaya, Hua Hin, Ko Chang and
Kanchanaburi have not been affected by the floods.
|
