The Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association have unveiled their tourism stimulus program with a series of companies registering their interest to participate whilst also pledging to offer huge discounts to local travelers.

Nguyen Thi Khanh, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, said due to the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the southern city’s tourism industry has been forced to accelerate a restructuring process and has identified tourists travelling domestically as a key demographic. 

At present, approximately 40 tourism firms located in Ho Chi Minh City have registered for participation in the program and launched special tours with huge discounts of up to 50 per cent to local people .

Airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, VietjetAir, and Bamboo Airways have also offered a reduction of 50 per cent on flight tickets, while the railway sector has also provided discounts of up to 40 per cent on ticket prices.

A number of road tours designed by enterprises have implemented discounts of between 15 per cent and 18 per cent, while tours by plane have seen discounts reach up to 22 per cent.

Firms note that prices are to be significantly slashed in the time ahead with support from the state through a reduction in VAT and corporate income tax.

Khanh stated that members of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association have designed a number of programs offering attractive prices to visitors in preparation for the end of the epidemic in the near future.

Vo Anh Tai, Deputy General Director of Saigontourist, said that the company has been implementing the stimulus program since the beginning of February by strengthening connectivity with service units, culinary restaurants, and accommodation facilities in the southern city.

It is hoped that the move will provide a basis for the company to connect its products with many of the tourism industry’s products when the city unleashes its stimulus program.