TAT lowers the cost of romance
TAT lowers the cost of romance
Tourism Authority of Thailand
targets Vietnamese honeymooners using an “Amazing Moment in Lifeâ€
campaign that focuses on Samui and Phuket islands.
Beach“This is
a new market for us based on our observations that Vietnamese
honeymooners usually head for Nha Trang beach. Phuket, or Samui could
have a market here, instead of us just selling Bangkok and Pattaya,â€
said TAT Ho Chi Minh Office director, Pichai Raktasinha, during last
weekâ€'s ITE-HCMC show.
Nha Trang, the countryâ€'s most popular
beach resort is located in central Vietnam about 450 km north of Ho Chi
Minh City and 1300 km south of Hanoi.
TAT is promoting
itineraries that use a Bangkok Airways special fare. In addition,Â
through TATâ€'s financial support the cost of the package can be reduced
to US$499 for a four-day/three-night trip to Samui or a
five-day/four-night to Phuket. The price for bookings confirmed by 20
October.
Mr Pichai said pricing was the only factor that counted in the Vietnamese outbound market.
“They
check out various destinations and the one with the lowest price gets
the business ,†he said. Normally, tours from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha
Trang cost around US$394 by air and from US$128 to US$301 by land.
Vietnamese
tourists to Thailand will decline this year by 6% from 337,000 arrivals
in 2007 to around 300,000. He believes that next year the market should
rebound with a 10 to 20% growth representing an additional 50,000
arrivals.