Vietnam
is forecast to grow in popularity as a destination for British tourists this
year, according to the Holiday Money Report 2011, recently issued by the Post
Office, the UK's largest foreign currency provider.
"Movie stars and backpackers have long
since discovered its beaches but 2011 was the year when Vietnam finally seems
to have made it onto the world stage," states the report. The document
reviews UK travel trends from previous years and identifies holiday hotspots
for 2012 based on exchange rates, trends and resort costs.
After a yearly 106 per cent growth in sales of
the dong between August-November of 2011, Vietnam, together with Argentina, is
tied for the top position on the Post Office's first list of emerging holiday
destinations.
With the December launch of the first non-stop
service from London to Hanoi and HCM City, the floodgates are "likely to
open as a crop of new beach hotels compete head to head with Thailand on
price", according to the report.
"Vietnam could finally prove to be the
next big thing in long haul tourism," the Post Office forecasts.
The Post Office's worldwide holiday cost
barometer, which compares costs for holiday travel packages, puts Vietnam as
the 10th cheapest of the 40 destinations surveyed.
Thailand is still the cheapest South East
Asian country surveyed, but Vietnam has emerged as a good value with just 50.71
GBP (US$80) for eight tourist items, including dinner for two with wine, in
resort areas. (Sri Lanka was the cheapest place and Australia the most
expensive of all for British travellers.)
Vietnam is a little more expensive, 9 per cent
more than Thailand, but still it's a better place than other regional
countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Some British tourists said Vietnam is even
cheaper in reality, with a bottle of local beer sold at about VND10,000
($0.47), instead of $2.76 as reported by the barometer.
Vietnam received more than 156,000 UK visitors
in 2011, up by almost 90 per cent compared to 2005, according to the Vietnam
National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
Although the UK is not in Vietnam's top 10
tourism markets of 2011, which is headed by China, it has been one of major
European markets.
"Everyone is going to Vietnam," said
Anne Smith, a retired Briton who has planned for a trip to Vietnam herself this
summer.
VNAT's Travel Department director Nguyen Quy
Phuong said the country will focus on promotions in the UK, given that the
direct flights and the Post Office's ratings were opportunities for a tourism
boom after economic downturns.
VIR - VNA
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