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Airfare hike to hit local tourism
Domestic tours, already plagued by poor quality of services and high tour prices, are set to lose further ground to outbound tours since their prices are likely to rise due to a hike in airfares starting yesterday.
Vietnam Airlines has said it will increase domestic economy class fares by 15-20 per cent.
Most operators have said this would raise the prices of domestic tours involving aircraft travel by more than 20 per cent.
Tran The Dung, deputy director of travel firm Young Generation Co Ltd, said that domestic tours would become uncompetitive because of the poor quality of services and high prices.
Many other service providers like hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions also planned to increase prices following the airfare hikes, increasing tour prices by 30 per cent, he said.
Nguyen Ngoc An, head of the inbound tour department at Tan Dinh Fiditourist Joint Stock Company, attributed the large price differences between domestic and Southeast Asia tours to transport costs, which he said made up nearly 60 per cent of domestic packages and only 40 per cent in case of international tours.
Tran Long, director of Viet Media Travel Corporation, admitted local tours would hardly attract Vietnamese tourists when they compared their prices and quality with outbound tours.
The Government should support domestic tours which would enable the development of a range of services, he added.
vietnamnews
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