Flight searches to Ho Chi Minh City skyrocket by 246% as city strengthens ties to Oz

Flight searches to Ho Chi Minh City skyrocket by 246% as city strengthens ties to Oz
Sofia Geraghty
By Sofia Geraghty


Delegates from the Australian and Vietnamese tourism community gathered in Parramatta yesterday for the Ho Chi Minh city tourism roadshow, hosted by Ho Chi Minh city tourism and the consulate general of
Vietnam to New South Wales.

The vibrant gala dinner showcased some of Vietnam’s top tourism attractions including traditional music performances, a live fashion show featuring Miss Universe Vietnam 2022, a silk dyeing workshop and a chef’s culinary showcase.

Speaking at the event, Karla Lampe, executive director of trade and investment at NSW, said the relationship between the two countries continues to deepen as Vietjet grows its flight routes.

“Last year close to 400,000 Australians flocked to Vietnam, making your country one of Australia’s top ten travel destinations. Chairmen I know it won’t come as a surprise to you that flight searches to Ho Chi Minh City are up to 246 per cent and now Vietjet has launched in our major cities, a trip to Vietnam has never been more accessible.”

As well as Lampe, other VIPs at the event included Phan Van Mai, chairman of Ho Chi Minh City people’s committee, Fazila Farhad, chair of the Western Sydney Tourism Taskforce NSW, Patricia Prociv, deputy mayor councillor for Parramatta City Council, and representatives for Vietnam airlines.

The event comes at a time when budget airline Vietjet is rapidly expanding its flight routes in Australia. Earlier this year it announced it will be adding a route between Sydney and Hanoi in June.

Vietjet is currently the largest Vietnamese airline operating in Australia with 48 per cent seat capacity, ahead of Vietnam Airlines (40 per cent) and Jetstar (12 per cent).

In 2023 alone, Vietjet continued to grow its flight network with 33 new international and domestic routes, including the five new routes in Australia (Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney), bringing the total number of routes to 125, including 80 international and 45 domestic routes.

There had been speculation that Vietjet was considering buying failed airline Bonza in a bid to grow in Australia, however it has now reportedly walked away from talks.

 

 

 

 

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