【kết quả nigeria】Connecting to soon bring Thai guests to Hue

Thai famtrip group coming to Hue and experiencing the cyclo service

Thai guests will come to Hue in May

Statistics from the Department of Tourism show that 2010-2015 was the period when the influx of Thai tourists to Hue was the highest,kết quả nigeria always topping the chart in the total number of international visitors; accounting for an average of more than 16% market share of international visitors to Hue.

From 2016 to 2019, the number of visitors decreased slightly but still held the 2nd position in the international tourist market share, only after Korea. In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there were still 46,000 Thai visitors to Hue, accounting for 11.4% of the market share.

According to Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of the Tourism Promotion Information Center, it can be affirmed that Thai tourists are the important, traditional and potential tourist stream of Thua Thien Hue with the demand for tourism services relating to sightseeing cultural heritage, experiencing traditional arts, enjoying local cuisine and shopping.  

Through assessing the resilience of international markets when the pandemic is under control, Thailand ranks first. That is because Thailand is located in the ASEAN region and there are similarities in terms of requirements and procedures for welcoming and serving guests.

Two important grounds for believing that the Thai tourist market will recover soon is that Thai Vietjet Airlines is making efforts to re-operate the route connecting Thailand with the central provinces, especially Hue - Da Nang - Quang Nam.

In order to exploit charter and regular flights from Bangkok to Hue and launch effective tourism from the Thai market to Thua Thien Hue as soon as possible, the airline is urging the province to support the launch of Thua Thien Hue tourism in Thailand; calling for and arranging funding sources to support and launch the Bangkok - Hue flight route; jointly surveying and considering the possibility of exploiting the flight route connecting the ancient capitals of Ayutthaya (Thailand) - Hue (Vietnam) - Luang Prabang (Laos) - Siem Reap (Cambodia)...

After the survey, Thai businesses confirmed that they would bring guests to Hue as soon as possible

In early April, right after Thai Vietjet's working trip to promote flights to Hue, the Thai famtrip group of 33 members, including tour operators, tourism promotion agencies, news, and media reporters went to Hue to visit and survey tourist attractions, proceed to build a new tour. This was the first international famtrip group to Hue after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, demonstrating a determination to revive the Thai market to Hue and vice versa after a long period of closure.

The representative of the Thai famtrip group affirmed that Hue is a destination that has similarities with Thailand, especially the heritage and cultural system, which was once the last capital of the feudal regime in Vietnam. When entering heritage sites, red is often the main color used and this is the color that many Thai guests love as it represents prosperity. Before coming to Hue, the source of tourists in Thailand has been ready. Many Thai travelers have booked tours and awaiting conditions to travel to Hue. 

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism, said that the provincial leaders are very determined to open an international flight route from Thailand to Hue. The preparatory work is urgently being promoted and implemented. It is expected that in May, the first flight of Thai Vietjet will go to Hue and the first group of Thai guests will also take a visit.

Considering long-term plans

According to the tourism industry, to actively welcome and serve Thai tourists, Hue is focusing on building itineraries specifically for Thai visitors, suitable for the peak travel time of Thai tourists. Promotion through travel agencies and social networks is also being boosted. In addition, in Thua Thien Hue, there are investments to improve the quality of entertainment services, cuisine, traditional arts (Hue singing), shopping, etc.

Moreover, many tasks were taken on to improve services, such as reviewing and implementing immigration procedures to ensure smooth arrival for passengers, arranging a separate area for charter passengers at Phu Bai airport for convenience, and for ensuring the route of the tour. It is necessary to create favorable conditions for joint venture travel businesses with Thailand to operate. Professional training, especially in Thai language for the staff in the tourism industry is also highlighted.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc acknowledged that, in reality, the recovery of the Thai tourist market and maintaining the connection by direct flights faced many challenges. Previously, there was a charter flight to Thailand, but it could not be maintained for a long time because of the unstable number of two-way passengers. The way from Thailand to Hue was stable, but the way from Hue to Thailand was not.

Therefore, it is important to promote two-way tourists. In the coming days, the department will work with tourism in the province and in the region to have policies to stimulate demand for tourists in Hue and in the region to travel to Thailand to create a two-way source of tourists.

From the reality of prior exploitation of the Thai tourist market, it shows that a long-term solution is needed. The tourism industry needs to develop inter-regional products that are suitable for the needs of Thai tourists.

Hue travel agencies and neighboring provinces need to connect and exploit the tourist market for Thailand in the province and the region to solve the output issue from Hue market and to bring efficiency for air travel between the two markets Hue and Thailand.

In addition, there needs to be a stronger linkage among the three localities of Thua Thien Hue - Da Nang - Quang Nam, expanding to Quang Binh and Quang Tri province. Only then can the localities complement each other in terms of transportation and development, diversifying tourism products… Building a tour to Hue and returning to home country in Da Nang and vice versa is a solution that needs to be taken into account.

Story and photos:Duc Quang