Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Travel firms step up sales via Internet

In economic difficulties, travel firms step up tour sales via Internet

September 6, 2011 about News, Travel

LookAtVietnam - Online marketing has been used by travel firms for a long
time. However, the firms have only paid special attention to the sale channel
recently, when tour fees prove to be an important competitiveness in the context
of economic downturn.

Since the beginning of the year, a series of travel firms have announced that
they have upgraded the remote payment system and that clients now can book tours
on their official websites.
The Hoa Binh Travel Firm, for example, has developed the online tourism tour
booking on peacetour.com.vn. The representative of the firm said that with the
friendly interface, the online tour booking system allows clients to save their
time, because clients can book tours even when they sit at home and click mouse
to the firm’s website. Especially, Hoa Binh has also developed the system which
allows travelers to foresee the destinations and book tours via mobile phones.
Vietravel has also been well known as the travel firm which has made heavy
investment in developing online booking via its website. Vietravel firm has
build up E-tour program with travel.com.vn website, which allows clients to
survey the tours and prices, and get detailed information about the tours,
including the departure time or schedules.
Most recently, Fiditour has become the pioneer in accepting payment through
e-wallets and online payment portals. The clients in Vietnam and around the
world can book tours on Fiditour’s website in different languages of Vietnamese,
English, French or Japanese.
Travelers can make payment through nganluong.vn with domestic credit cards,
while travelers in other countries or the ones using international credit cards
can make payment via Paypal.com. Especially, in case clients cancel tours, they
still can get money refunded.
Besides travel firms, tourism sites’ developers, resorts and hotels have also
pushed up the online marketing and payment.
Do Tuan Hung Manh, Managing Director of Mom Da Chim Resort, which has launched
an online marketing campaign, said that online channels can help enterprises
attract a lot of travelers. In the low season, where there are not many
travelers, travel firms still can attract travelers who can fill in the idle
rooms in the resort. Online channels also can help popularize tourism brands;
especially, they prove to be very useful for the less well known brands, because
they are not too costly while the efficiency is high.
Nguyen Hoa Binh, General Director of PeaceSoft, which has inked an agreement
with the international payment portal Paypal, believes that online payment
services in tourism will certainly develop well in the current difficult
circumstances. As travelers have to tighten their belt, they have to think
carefully when choosing tours and destinations. Therefore, the travel firms
which have good websites and good payment system would have advantages in
attracting clients.
According to Google, 98 percent of the clients who purchase tourism products in
Vietnam, search information online before they book tours, with 5-7 million
visitors to the tourism websites recorded for every month.
Also according to Binh, 80 percent of domestic travelers set up their tourism
plans via Internet. Before going traveling, they tend to search information
about the destinations, and try to find out which hotels offer the most
reasonable hotel room rates and other kinds of information.
It is expected that online payment would bring over 50 percent of turnover of
travel firms. Binh went on to say that remote sale surely can help travel firms
reduce the cost prices.
Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Chief Representative of the Southern Office of the Vietnam
E-commerce Association, said that more and more travel firms have cooperated
with e-wallet service providers to develop tourism.
However, it is still early to say about online tour booking as the most
important channel for tourism development in the future, because Vietnamese
travelers still fear that they cannot be served as advertised, while travel
firms fear about “virtual tour bookings”.
Source: Phap luat TP HCM

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They say "

“I can’t say what made me fall in love with Vietnam - that a woman’s voice can drug you; that everything is so intense. The colors, the taste, even the rain. Nothing like the filthy rain in London. They say whatever you’re looking for, you will find here. They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes, but the rest has got to be lived. The smell: that’s the first thing that hits you, promising everything in exchange for your soul. And the heat. Your shirt is straightaway a rag. You can hardly remember your name, or what you came to escape from. But at night, there’s a breeze. The river is beautiful. You could be forgiven for thinking there was no war; that the gunshots were fireworks; that only pleasure matters. A pipe of opium, or the touch of a girl who might tell you she loves you. And then, something happens, as you knew it would. And nothing can ever be the same again.”
― Graham Greene, The Quiet American

Tips on Travel to Vietnam

It's always warm in Southeast Asia apart from high mountains, so leave the heavy clothing at home. Cotton and breathable fabrics are always better than synthetics -- although cotton does wrinkle a lot when traveling! December through April is roughly the dry season in that region, although it can still rain a little. December is a good time to go in terms of temperature -- cooler than in the humid summertime. Either way, wearing more clothing (shirt sleeves and long pants) is always more respectful towards the Asian culture, especially when visiting temples and rural areas.