Tourism between Sri Lanka and Vietnam which is just beginning has a strong potential to grow in the future, officials said during a familiarization tour of the county by travel agents of the Indian Ocean Island.
Senior representatives of 15 travel agents from Sri Lanka were on a familiazation tour of Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, Halong Bay and Hue ancient city, Da Nang in the centre, My Tho in the Mekong delta and the bustling Ho Chi Minh City in the south.
“You will be the bridge to link the peoples of our two countries,” Nguyen T Phoung Mai, general director of Hanoi Toserco, a state run travel services firm started in 1988 to the Delegation.
She was addressing the delegation from Sri Lanka was headed by deputy head of the Vietnam embassy in Colombo Phung Trong Tuan and Roland Gunesekere head of Sri Lanka’s Safeway Travels at Toserco’s head office in Hanoi during the first leg of the tour.
“I think when we get back we will be able to give a better picture about Vietnam to Sri Lanka,” Gunesekera told the meeting.
Mai said representatives of her company had already visited Sri Lanka to gain initial information promote travel from Vietnam to Sri Lanka.
“But we need to do more research,” she said.
Gunasekera said Sri Lankans were already travelling to Vietnam but higher air fares compared to popular destinations like Thailand and Singapore put Vietnam out of the reach of some of their customers.
Gunasekera said Sri Lankans were already travelling to Vietnam but higher air fares compared to popular destinations like Thailand and Singapore put Vietnam out of the reach of some of their customers.
Tuan said a recent aviation bi-lateral signed between Sri Lanka and Vietnam could pave the way for lower fares.
The familiarization tour was supported by Vietnam’s Hanoi Toserco, FidiTour, the embassy and travel agencies.
Mai said in addition to Hanoi and Halong Bay, a breathtaking group of hundreds of karst limestone islets dotting a calm sea-green bay, tourist could also consider visiting mountainous areas of Sapa which has cool weather.
“We have a minority people there,” she said. “In Vietnam we have 54 ethnic groups with 53 minority groups.”
“They have their own language and culture.”
The familiarization tour was supported by Vietnam’s Hanoi Toserco, FidiTour, the embassy and travel agencies.
Mai said in addition to Hanoi and Halong Bay, a breathtaking group of hundreds of karst limestone islets dotting a calm sea-green bay, tourist could also consider visiting mountainous areas of Sapa which has cool weather.
“We have a minority people there,” she said. “In Vietnam we have 54 ethnic groups with 53 minority groups.”
“They have their own language and culture.”
Vietnam welcomed 6.0 million tourists in 2011, and in the first seven months of 2012 Vietnam had received 3.8 million tourists up 10.8 percent from a year earlier.
In 2011, China, Korea, Japan and the United States were the top four generating markets. While 1.4 million Chinese, 536,000 Koreans, 418,000 Japanese and 439,000, Americans also visited the country.
Nine countries generated more than 200,000 tourists during 2011, including Cambodia, Taiwan, Australia, Malaysia and France.
Sri Lanka Travel Feneteko