While demand for budget tours had declined, long-haul and upper end tours are selling well, despite prices nearly four times the normal.

The Vietours travel agency arranged a four-day Singapore tour for a group of some 300 people last week. These customers were ready to pay US$1,600-1,800 each, three times the price of normal tours.

The tour operator said it sent 320 tourists to Japan last week and would take another 400 next month.

Ben Thanh Tourist, another travel agency, has also reported stronger demand for high-end tours. It has successfully organised a nine-day tour of Britain and Scotland priced at VND95 million ($4,500) per person two weeks ago, and is now planning to promote the tour further.

The Saigontourist Travel Service Co has said it had received requests for tours of Peru, which is an unfamiliar destination that can only be arranged at expensive rates. For this long weekend that combines Liberation Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1), more customers are looking for tours to Europe, the US and Australia, but these have been sold out, the company said.-VNS