The number of international visitors to Vietnam in comparison with previous years is decreasing, the growth rate accounts for only 1%, tourism made hundreds of products at a discount. However, in many hotels, many people are not sure that the project is feasible or not.

“The discounts also cause immediate difficulties for tourism, but if we do not have a promotional strategy, in the future though we want to have foreign tourists to reduce cost but threre will be no one any more,” Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy of Vietnam Tourism have said at the meeting recently. Mr. Cuong also said that reduction strategy may be extended in the coming year to help Vietnam’s tourism to be recovered.

Vietnam Tourism expect that in the beginning of 2009, they will officially publish a package promotion tour for foreign tourists and officially introduce to the travel companies, partnerships and foreign media in the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF). It is expected that they will select 15-20 major travel enterprises to construct more than 100 promotional tours committing the discount rate of 30-50%.

However, General Director of Majestic Saigon Hotel, Mr. Tao Van Nghe, said: “When applying hotel discount, we must consider the revenue gains, hotels can only register to participate, but commiting at the rate of 30-50% is so difficult. “

Representatives of Rex Hotel – Mrs. Mac Kim Thuy Huong – confirmed that: “The plan is suggested by Vietnam Tourism, that has put us to the commitment for implementing. Because this is the common strategy. However, we will select one of the suitable markets to commit discount applying while ensuring revenue for the hotel.”

“If travel companies do not agree to discount, hotels or a group of business partners do not participate, they will make the package discount tour incompleted”, Mr. Cuong emphatized.

Beside building product promotion system, Vietnam Tourism also proposed a series of methods to cope with the situation of tourism in Vietnam during economy crisis, such as: promoting the implementation of tourism advertisement campaign for Vietnam promotion, inviting delegations like Famtrip and Presstrip to visit the country, promoting the new destinations in Vietnam, attracting visitors from a number of important market, promoting the domestic markets and so on.