Discounts on Vietnam travel

HANOI, 26 March 2013: Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will launch a discount programme to encourage international tourists to travel to the country during the off-peak months.

The stimulus programme should help to increase international arrivals to 7.2 million this year up from 6.8 million in 2012.

According to a local news report, the programme is expected to begin in the second or third quarter of this year.

Travel companies, hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions and shops can offer 10% to 40% discounts during the off-peak season. Airlines will also offer discounts.

The scheme should encourage more travellers from key markets such as China, France, India and Russia.

The ministry said, earlier, it would ask the government to cut value-added tax by half and waive income tax for businesses joining the programme.

But that incentive has not been mentioned since. Instead, participating businesses will be allowed to promote their services on the official website and in some participating newspapers.

Several businesses have expressed concern over the programme’s effectiveness, saying there will was not enough time to sell it to partners and customers.

Some tour operators claim details should have been released much earlier.

During January to February, foreign tourists  to Vietnam reached 1,213,076 visits,  down 7.53% from 1,311,849 visits during the same period last year.

Sourced: ttrweekly