HCM City travel agents suffer as thousands of tours cancelled

HCM City firms reported that over 35,000 tours have been cancelled due to Covid-19 outbreak.

HCM City firms reported that over 35,000 tours have been cancelled due to Covid-19 outbreak.

   

Over 35,000 tours have been cancelled

The firms are facing many problems in refunding as they have paid deposits for most of their airline partners and accommodation facilities. According to a firm in HCM City, even they had explained, a customer still insisted on a full refund. In order to keep the customer, they had made the refund despite the loss.

Nguyen Thi Khanh, vice head of HCM City Tourism Association, said, "After the outbreak in Danang, many people in HCM City cancelled tours to Danang as well as tours to other locations like Da Lat, Phu Quoc and Vung Tau. Only a few customers agreed to change the date or destination and others just wanted a full refund."

Khanh went on to say that this was the hardest time yet for the tour agencies in HCM City. The HCM City Tourism Association has sent an official document to the Tourism Department and other tourism associations in Vietnam to find a way to support and help tour agencies in negotiating with customers. Khanh called on other organisations to work together to help HCM City tour agencies, as well as the tourism sector in general, during this time.

The association also asked customers to be understanding and change the date and location or accept the cancellation fee.