Hotels travel businesses are worried that the number of Russian tourists to Vietnam will decrease because of the conflict in Ukraine.
“Lack of Russian guests coming to stay when it reopens in March” is what Mr. Le Xuan Thom, General Director of Hai Dang Co., Ltd., which owns the 4-star Galina hotel in Nha Trang City, is concerned about when conflicts arise. Russia-Ukraine conflict.
He analyzed that the conflict between the two countries and a series of economic sanctions by the US and the EU caused the currency exchange rate to change. The Rup depreciates against the USD and EUR, which means that Russian tourists will incur additional costs when booking a regular tour.
This directly affects the consumer psychology of the potential customer market in Khanh Hoa and Vietnam in general.
Mr. Thom cooperates with Russian travel agencies such as Annex, Pegas. From the end of March to this summer, it is expected that every day there will be a delegation of Russian guests to Vietnam and equally divided into the hotels that have signed contracts.
He expects his 163-room hotel to reach 100% capacity. But with the current conflict, keeping guests private is no longer possible. Before Covid-19, his hotel served up to 80% of international guests; this year will still focus on welcoming domestic and Korean guests.
As the first year to welcome Russian guests, Alma Resort Cam Ranh has high expectations for this market but shares the same concerns. Vu Huong Giang, the resort’s manager, said that she plans to work with a partner in Russia to welcome guests as soon as Vietnam tourism opens in March.
However, because Russia and Ukraine conflict, the partner has to delay the contract signing schedule. Next week, the resort will meet with this travel company to develop a strategy corresponding to the situation. In the most pessimistic case, the resort will promote the Korean and Australian markets, which are also very potent.
On the side of travel businesses, Mr. Bui Quoc Dai, Head of Operations Department of Annex Vietnam Trade and Tourism Co., Ltd., said that conflicts cause more apparent difficulties for the tourism industry.
The impact at the enterprise level is the changing exchange rate, which directly affects consumers potential tourists. He does not think that the travel industry lacks Russian tourists but will lose some. Conflict is also unpredictable.
After three days, the exchange rate will change more, accommodation, airline, and travel businesses can develop a plan to subsidize or communicate and promote to other tourist markets.
In the pilot program from November 2021 to now, the company has welcomed more than 4,000 Russian guests to Khanh Hoa, accounting for nearly 50%. He said tourists love returning to Khanh Hoa partly because of their consumption habits and the open policy, only requiring guests to join a 3-day tour. They can freely explore the destination if they are tested for Covid.
Currently, the company exploits customers in cities with direct flights to Vietnam, such as Moscow. Mr. Dai suggested that the state management agency in charge of tourism and diplomacy continue to promote Russia to reopen regular flights, solving the great difficulties of businesses in welcoming guests.
“The conflict between the two countries currently causes certain difficulties, which may affect long-term recovery expectations, but to the extent that Khanh Hoa sets a target, we are confident of achieving it,” Dai said.
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