[vnforum] Fearful travellers divert to safe Vietnam

[kenneth phan]

November 29, 2002 8:30 AM
 
Fearful travellers divert to safe Vietnam
 
By Christina Toh-Pantin

HO CHI MINH CITY (Reuters) - It's a good time to be a
hotel operator in communist Vietnam's biggest city.

A multinational company had been planning a meeting in
Bali drawing participants from around the world. Then
came the bombing in
the Indonesian resort in October, killing more than
180 people, many of them tourists.

The company decided to shift its plans to Bangkok.
That became a problem after several Western countries
issued travel warnings
on possible similar Muslim militant attacks in
Thailand and several other Southeast Asian nations.

Finally, the organisers looked to Vietnam.

They aren't alone in their choice. Ho Chi Minh City,
still known by its pre-independence name of Saigon, is
cashing in on the
perception that Vietnam is one of the safest travel
venues in a region jittery about further terror
attacks.

The suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya
and attempted downing of an Israeli chartered flight
on Thursday has further
deepened travel angst.

"Vietnam appears to be the safest place in Southeast
Asia," said Bertrand Courtois, executive assistant
manager in charge of rooms
at Sofitel Plaza Saigon in the southern commercial
hub.

"The Japan leisure market is coming back very
strongly," he told Reuters in an interview.

European tourists who had already paid for tours in
Asia to countries such as Indonesia were rebooking to
Vietnam rather than
cancelling their trips, Courtois said.

Stephen O'Grady, general manager of the Caravelle
Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, told Reuters he's had to
turn customers away on at
least seven days this month.

"We look to finish the month at 86 percent
(occupancy)," he said. That compares with 65 percent
in November last year.

NEW DESTINATION

The business crowd has been particularly robust, in
part due to a huge expansion in trade following last
December's trade pact with
the United States, industry experts say.

O'Grady said that in addition to Vietnam's reputation
as a safer country, "it's a new leisure destination in
people's eyes".

The travel industry was also reaping the benefits of
promotions by state-run Saigon Tourist and private
groups such as hotels and
airlines, he noted.

Hotel operators say their bookings into March look
healthy, with O'Grady forecasting the Caravelle to
reach up to 90 percent
occupancy in March 2003 from 81 percent a year ago.

Overall for Vietnam -- seen to be secure in large part
due to the tight controls the government exerts --
tourism is looking rosy.

The country of 80 million with one of the most vibrant
economies in Asia expects to receive up to 2.6 million
foreign visitors by the end
of this year, up from 2.3 million in 2001.

Of those, Ho Chi Minh City, home to seven million
people, should see a rise of 16 percent in
international tourists from a year ago,
Nguyen Thi Lap Quoc, director of the city's tourism
department told Reuters.

"Vietnam has been voted as a destination of safety for
visitors and this is particularly impressive after
September 11 and the Bali
bombing," she said, referring to the suicide attacks
on New York and Washington in September last year.

But she said tourism officials weren't yet ready to
hype the safety aspect in promotions -- hotels in the
bustling, traffic choked
metropolis still display pre-2000 banners declaring
Vietnam as the destination of the "new millennium".


Reuters 
 
 


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