Vietnam to eliminate dual airfare system
HANOI - Vietnam will abolish its dual airfare system on domestic routes to boost tourism and investment starting next year, officials said Thursday.
Beginning January 1, foreigners, overseas Vietnamese and locals will pay the same airfare on internal flights, said Ho Quoc Cuong, deputy head of the air transport division of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam.
Currently, foreigners pay $106 for the popular Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route, 22 percent higher than the $87 that local or overseas Vietnamese pay. But from the beginning of 2004, every traveller will pay $96 for the fare, Cuong said.
"It's unfair for foreigners to pay higher for the same services. The one-price system will bring equality to air travellers, regardless of whether they are foreigners or locals," he said, adding that the move would "help to boost tourism and investment in Vietnam."
Foreign investors have long complained about pricing discrimination on certain services such as airfares, train tickets and utilities. Sometimes foreigners are charged more than double. The new airfare rules will apply to both Vietnam Airlines, the country's flag carrier, and its smaller competitor Pacific Airlines, he said.
Tour operators agreed that the move would boost Vietnam's fledgling travel industry.
"It will help to promote tourism," said Ton That Hoa, director of Vietnam's leading tour operator SaigonTourist. "We could lower the price of package tours to attract more clients."
The Associated Press - December 04, 2003.
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