Vietnam Airlines promotes Vietnamese tourism in Japan

Representatives of more than 80 travel and airline companies of the two countries attended the seminar.

Addressing the event, Ngo Sy Anh, director of Vietnam Airlines Representative Office in Japan, affirmed Japan is an important market for Vietnam Airlines.

As soon as the Vietnamese government opened the door to international tourists, Vietnam Airlines developed a plan to increase the frequency of flights between Vietnam and Japan, he said, adding the airline also actively cooperated with travel firms and other partners in Japan to promote Vietnamese tourism.

Representatives of Vietnamese travel firms, hotels and airlines introduced the tourism potential and attractive destinations in Vietnam to Japanese partners.

They also discussed cooperation directions with their Japanese partners to take advantage of opportunities from the recovery of the two countries’ tourism industries after the pandemic.

Sayuri Hiroi, business development manager at Thien Minh Group, said that Vietnam is a very safe country that boasts many beautiful destinations and delicious delicacies.

In order to attract tourists from Japan, Vietnam should strengthen its marketing campaign in Japan, and if this work is done well, Vietnamese tourism will develop rapidly, she suggested.

Masahiko Inada, director of the Outbound Travel Promotion Division of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), stressed that Vietnam Airlines’ increase in the frequency of flights between the two countries would contribute to increasing the number of tourists from Vietnam to Japan and vice versa.

Japan was Vietnam Airlines’ leading international market in the pre-pandemic period, with a growth rate of up to 10% per year. Every week, the airline operated 68 flights connecting four major Japanese cities with three Vietnamese cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. In 2019 alone, Vietnam Airlines operated 8,385 flights in both directions, transporting 1.6 million passengers.

However, the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 dealt a heavy blow to the airline’s operations. At some time, the airline had to stop operating commercial flights to this market.

After the Vietnamese government decided to resume regular international operations from January 1, 2022, Vietnam Airlines took the lead in reopening flights to Japan. Currently, it operates 42 flights between the two countries every week.