Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon (Sai Gon Economic Times) has published last year's revenue figures for HCM City-based tour operators Saigontourist Travel Service, Vietravel and Fiditourist.

Saigontourist earned VND1.733 trillion (US$82.5 million), with the outbound and domestic segments accounting for VND1.326 trillion.

The inbound segment catering to international visitors accounted for the rest.

For Vietravel, the outbound segment brought in revenues of VND1.781 trillion ($84.8 million), the domestic segment fetched VND473.6 billion, and the inbound segment, VND99.5 billion.

Fiditourist earned total revenues of VND390.2 billion ($18.5 million), with the inbound segment accounting for VND61.3 billion and the other two for VND328.9 billion.

But the outbound segment is often seen as generating lower profits for travel firms since most of the money paid by customers are paid for overseas service providers.-VNS