Cheap, poor quality travel companies are affecting the country’s tourism image.
Many travel companies have been trying to attract customer attention with cheap and poor-quality tours Tour office with only one staff member While it may be peak season, many travel agents in HCM City are deserted. Located in a small alley in Binh Thanh District, the B.S.C.V office employs just two people, including one staff member who only focuses on faxing tours to companies. Meanwhile the very young director is playing games.
V.B.S.C Company in District 3 has copied tours of Vietravel brochures to invite customers, but at much cheaper prices.
Other companies have adopted the same sales techniques, particularly those companies serving foreign travellers.
According to the HCM City Department of Tourism, the city has more than 8,000 travel companies, but only 350 of them meet business requirements.
Cheating customers with attractive tours
Many travel companies have been trying to attract customer attention with cheap tours, targeting state employees, teachers and students.
Mrs. Thu Hoa, a teacher from a high school in District 8, said her school had registered a tour for students to Vung Tau City last summer. Returning home, all students complained that they were left hungry and thirsty because they are given just one bottle of water and little food.
Mrs. Ha said “Recently I have booked a three day trip to Phan Thiet-Mui Ne-Hon Rom priced at VND800,000 (USD38). According to the description the car would have air conditioning and TV and we would stay at a three-star resort. However, when we received the rooms, we were really disappointed to find out that it was an old and dirty guesthouse.”
The travel companies of this kind often operate at peak tourism periods such as Tet and the summer holidays and frequently change of address and name. To make matters worse the Tourism Law which took effect in 2006, does not include any sanctions to deal with such violations.
Legitimate firms have complained the laws should include specific regulations to protect the tourism industry, ensuring safety for visitors. They also advise customers to carefully consider tours before deciding to book them.
Thanks to relationship with partners, lots of big travel companies can provide cheap but good quality tours, but the number of this kind of tour is quite modest. Meanwhile, cheap tours often means lower-quality services or customers have to accept to have some services cut.
Customers need to carefully consider too good to be true offers. Prestigious travel companies usually have clear specifications on kinds of vehicle, food and accommodation.
Hoang Ngoc Thai, Director of Hoang Gia International Travel Firm, said it was essential to deal with fraudulent tour operators for the tourism industry’s development. In fact, fraudulent tour operators have been mushrooming over the past recent years to cheat customers. This has affected prestigious travel firms.
Many big tour operators said that recently they received lots of complaints from customers who were cheated.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
