Le Van Nghia, representative of Russian Transaero Airlines and Siberia Airlines, said he has just extended a license for the two airlines to bring tourists from Moscow and Novosibirks to Ho Chi Minh City with 4 flights a week from now until May 15.

After the suspension of the bankrupted Russian tour operator Lanta-Tur Voyache, tourists have continued to come to Vietnam on these two airlines with other tour agencies.

“Usually in March the two airlines have to reduce the number of flights to HCM City, as there are not so many tourists. However, this year there are still many coming until May,” said Nghia.

Nguyen Van Khoa, general director at Mui Ne Bay Resort in Phan Thiet City, in the coastal province of Binh Thuan, which has welcomed a large number of Russian tourists, said following the sudden closure of Lanta-Tur last February, some of their customers wrote emails showing their impressions of Mui Ne during their stay and recommended the city to their relatives and friends.

“The number of contracts sending Russian tourists to partners’ resorts will increase in the future,” predicted Khoa.
Hoang Thi Phong Thu, chairwoman at the Anh Duong tour operator, which carters Russian travelers, said the company has welcomed 180-200 tourists flying from Russia to Cam Ranh, in the coastal province of Khanh Hoa, on a daily basis.
From next month, their Russian partners will bring tourists to Danang City in central Vietnam everyday on private planes.

“At first, our partners planned to organize 7 flights a week to Cam Ranh from October last year to April this year. However, since January 2012, due to the increasing number of visitors, there are now 9 flights a week carrying 180-200 passenger each,” she said.

Thu said her partners also inquired about new destinations like Phu Quoc and Con Dao to plan new tours for Russian tourists on private planes.

According to local tour operators, Russians account for a large number of world travelers, but they have only begun to visit Vietnam in the last two or three years.

Thu said since October last year to March this year, her company has welcomed 30,000 tourists, most of whom stay at least 10 days in Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, HCM City and Mekong Delta provinces.

Vietnam welcomed more than 39,000 Russian tourists in February and 109,000 tourists over the past two months, a year-on-year increase of 55 percent.

Tuoitrenews/VOV Online