HCM CITY – The online tourism industry is expected to grow faster than e-commerce, according to a study by the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism.
Many young people visited online travel sites such as klook.com, traveloka.com, agoda.com, and booking.com to book flight tickets and hunt for affordable accommodation during the recent long holidays, Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper reported.
Nguyễn Thị Mộng Hảo, an office worker in HCM City’s District 10, said these sites constantly offer deals and promotions for destinations, hotel rooms and flight tickets from many companies, Wi-Fi services and food vouchers in many countries.
“Users can easily buy any service and make payment using credit cards, and service policies are transparent.”
They can use e-tickets to visit some tourism destinations, she added.
Từ Quý Thành, director of the Federal Tourism Company, said tourists now prefer booking services online to meeting travel agents and buying traditional tours.
They enjoy hunting for travel deals, reading reviews by travel bloggers and creating their own schedules, he added.
Spokespersons for Klook and Traveloka said 70 per cent of orders are made on smartphones and most customers are aged between 18 and 34.
They agreed that travel firms are involved in fierce competition, but pointed out that the diverse market offers more choices to customers.
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A customer books a hotel in Đà Lạt on Agoda. — Photo courtesy of sggp.org.vn
Latest trend
Experiential travel where previous tourists share their stories with people following them on various social media platforms is trending these days.
Most travel agencies offer both online and direct tours with a variety of packages.
Thành said travel firms have to constantly keep up with trends and tourists’ demands, especially youngsters’, to offer meaningful services.
The online tourism segment has a lot of potential but local travel firms face many challenges like inability to afford new technologies, legal provisions and data transmission.
Trần Kiều Vĩ, director of Thuận Phong Tourism Company, said most local travel agencies advertise on multiple channels like social networks, media outlets and fan pages to reach various customer segments.
Customers, mostly youths, tend to buy separate tourism products instead of full package tours.
But they are benefiting from the rivalry between traditional tour companies and their online counterparts since both have had to improve their services.
Nevertheless, experts recommend that tourists should carefully check the itinerary and buy insurance to avoid low-quality tourism products. – VNS