22 January 2009

Suppliers in Vietnam told to get realistic

HO CHI MINH CITY Ã¢â¬' Asian Trails general manager for Vietnam Claudio Kellenberger said the time had come to Ã¢â¬Åâœtalk toughÃ¢â¬~ to suppliers in a bid to hold on to business from Europe.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœNow is the time we have to work very hard on service quality,Ã¢â¬~ he said. Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe can no longer accept rate increases without question."

Kellenberger said Asian Trails was talking to hotels, tour operators, restaurants and guides about ways to entice VietnamÃ¢â¬â¢s strong European market to stay positive in 2009.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThere are worrying signs from Europe that without promotions and special rates the big markets from the UK, Switzerland and Italy will stay away,Ã¢â¬~ he added.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe will no longer accept rate increases of 30-40 percent a year from our suppliers without getting more value for money.Ã¢â¬~

Kellenberger said that inbound numbers for Vietnam had changed dramatically in August last year when instead of a hoped-for increase of 25 percent on 2007 figures, the growth was only 10 percent.

In November, the numbers again fell short of expectations with final figures expected to show little or no increase on 2007 visitor numbers to Vietnam.

Although high season arrivals were not as bad as feared, thanks largely to a pick-up in regional business from Asia, together with last minute bookings from Europe, Kellenberger said the outlook beyond March this year was Ã¢â¬Åâœa big question markÃ¢â¬~.

Asian Trails is investigating the possibility of organising charter packages to the beach resorts of Danang where several new hotels, including the luxury Nam Hai resort at Hoi An, and the Montgomery Links golf course, have opened.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœI believe there is potential to sell charters to a single beach destination,Ã¢â¬~ said Kellenberger. Ã¢â¬ÅâœThere are 2,500 extra hotel rooms coming on stream in Danang this year, plus the Sheraton at Nha Trang. There is no corporate business for these hotels, so how will they fill these rooms?Ã¢â¬~

Kellenberger said a 310-seat charter from Copenhagen to Ho Chi Minh City handled by Asian Trails was 85 percent full and he saw potential for a charter operation from Switzerland or the UK in the near future.

By Ian Jarrett