Tourist re-route to Vietnam after cancelling trips to Asian neighbours
Foreign travellers are flocking to Vietnam after cancelling vacations in Thailand and other tsunami-ravaged areas, according to the Vietnam Tourism Association.
The association cited the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean last month as the reason foreign visitors have cancelled their vacations to Thailand, Indonesia and Maldives.
According to reports, many travellers have chosen to re-route to Ho Chi Minh City and other seaside resorts in Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet.
Pham Xuan Mai, director general of the Saigon-Phu Quoc Resort on Phu Quoc island in the southern province of Kien Giang, said his 90-room hotel has been fully booked for all of January and February, but he is preparing additional rooms to receive more visitors from Thailand and Indonesia.
Vo Ta Ngoc, director of customer services at the Victoria Resort in Phan Thiet town, south-central Binh Thuan province, said many foreign tour agencies have sent their clients to the Victoria Resort instead of sending them to Thailand. He said the 60-room resort has been full for the past two weeks, but staff are preparing to receive extra travellers from Thailand and Indonesia.
According to tourism companies in HCM City, the number of tourists who arrived in the city in the first five days of the New Year stood at 10,000, three times higher than last year. Most of the tourists came from Japan, Europe and the United States.
Nguyen Xuan Thien, head of the planning section of Saigontourist, said his company will receive 2,500 arrivals this month.
Do Thanh Hoa, director of the Thien Thai company and the owner of Panadus resort, said many foreign tour companies sent requests for accommodation to his company after the natural disaster.
Director of the Seahorse Resort, Phung Kim Vy said her company had to refuse many proposals from European tour companies due to a lack of rooms.
The number of foreign visitors to Hanoi in January was also high. The reservation capacity of many four- and five-star hotels, including the Daewoo, Melia Hanoi, and Sofitel Plaza reached as high as 70-80 percent. Even mini hotels in the old quarter claimed no rooms to spare these days.
Officials at Viettour JSC said they cannot book hotel rooms these days if travellers do not make reservations in advance.
Radio Voice Of Vietnam - January 10, 2005.
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