TRAVEL
Vietravel to exploit the East-West Economic Corridor tourist route
15:59', 10/4/ 2007 (GMT+7)

Mr. Phan Ngoc Dung was paying a field visit to tourist spot of Inghang at Savanakhet Province, Laos. Photo by L.X

Vietravel Tourist Co. has recently organized an investigating tour around the East-West Economic Corridor in three countries of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Binh Dinh Newspaper had an interview with Mr. Phan Ngoc Dung, Chief Representative of Vietravel Quy Nhon Branch about the company’s plan of turning the route into its advantage.

* Interviewer: Can you please tell us about objectives and itinerary of the latest investigating tour?

Mr. Dung: At the end of March 2007, Vietravel organized the investigating tour along the East-West Economic Corridor to diversify its international routes, offering better tourist options to its customers, attracting more customers to its tourist services. Branches of Vietravel in central provinces of Quy Nhon, Da Nang and Hue also particiapted in the tour.

We headed to Lao Bao Border Gate in Quang Tri Province, going along the Road 9 to Savanakhet (Laos), then to Mukdahan, U Bon, Bangkok (Thailand). We then passed Champasak (Laos) and returned Vietnam through Bo Y Border Gate at Kon Tum highland Province after a quite long roundtrip along Road 18B. Although our tour lasted within one week, we discovered many useful potential things to use as tourist products and services of the route in the near future.

* Interviewer: What are the master plan of Vietravel and detail plan of its Quy Nhon branch to take advantage of the tour?

Mr. Dung: As I know, Vietravel is going to open Caravan tours from Ho Chi Minh City to Laos, Thailand and Cambodia through Ho Chi Minh-Pleiku-Kon Tum-Pakse-U Bon-Bangkok-Seam Reap-PhnomPenh-Ho Chi Minh route . The first tour will take place in June 2007 with participation of about 30 caravans. 

Vietravel Quy Nhon will offer international tours within 5 days and 4 nights for local tourists in Binh Dinh Province and from other neighbour provinces in need of visiting Champasak and U Bon. Roundtrip will follow the Quy Nhon-Kon Tum-Bo Y Border Gater-Pakse (main town of Champasak)-U Bon route and vice-versa. Main stops comprise Si Phan Don, Wat Phu and U Bon shopping centres.

Si Phan Don locates at Champasak Province. In Laotian language, it means 4.000 islands. It is the place where Mekong River enlarges itself with a lot of small islands and grandiose waterfalls. The tourists may take a ferry-boat to travel around the islands, to visit pagodas and the waterfalls, to stroll leisurely in orchards, to enjoy 7-dish of fish, a Mekong specialty. Si Phan Don is very attractive to many European and Japanese tourists.Wat Phu Temple (45km far away from Pakse town) is an imposing cultural world heritage.  All-inclusive price of the tour is about 2 million VND (equivalent to 125 USD). We are planning to advertise the tour. We expect the first tour will take place in May this year.

* Interviewer: Does Vietravel Quy Nhon plan to attract tourists from Northeast of Thailand to Binh Dinh?

Mr. Dung: This is part of our important and longterm strategy. After the investigating tour, I find that is is still hard to put the strategy into action in the near future. Tourist companies in U Bon and Mukdahan advertise a lot about tours to Vietnam. Most of them introduces Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue and Phong Nha. It takes about one day to travel by bus from Northeast of Thailand to the above places along the Road 9 passing Lao Bao Border Gate. At present, more than 200 tourists from Thailand to Vietnam through this route.

If they travel along the Road 18B, it will take them 2 days. Such long journey can’t attract the tourists. Moreover, most of the world heritages in Central Vietnam locate in the above coastal provinces. Tourist products and services of the provinces are much better than Binh Dinh Province. In the short term, Binh Dinh Province in general and Quy Nhon City in particular find hard to compete with the provinces. We have more advantages of attracting tourists from southern provinces of Laos to Quy Nhon beach. However, they are not our target potential customers now because few tourists have such demand. In the future, we will co-operate with some tourist agencies in Champasak to link with their tours, attracting their available tourists to Binh Dinh.

Please remember that above are my own comments and relect only our company’s point of view.

* Interviewer: Thank you very much!

  • Interviewed by Nguyen Vu
  • Translated by To Uyen
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