The tourism associations of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City signed anagreement on a joint 2013 tourism promotion programme on April 20.

Under the agreement, which was reached within the framework of the2013 Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM 2013) in Hanoi, reduced airfares between HCM City and Hanoi will be offered by thenational flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the low-cost carrier VietjetAir.

The two associations will also mobiliserelevant culture and tourism agencies in the southern and northernregions to reduce service prices, and ask travel agents to offer 30percent discounts on package tours.

The HCM CityTourism Association has reached an agreement with Vietnam Airlines tooffer flights from HCM City to Hanoi , Da Nang , Nha Trang andPhu Quoc at fares up to 58 percent lower than the standard ticket price.Meanwhile, Vietjet Air offered 10,000 air tickets 49 percent lower thantheir usual cost.

According to Vu The Binh, DeputyChairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, cooperation between the twoassociations will open a new avenue for their tourism sectors, andimprove the national tourism industry.

It will also facilitate tourists who travel from the north to the south and vice versa, he added.

Accordingto the VITM 2013 organising board, travel agents attending the marthave sold out of domestic summer tours by offering a 20 percent pricereduction.

In the first quarter of 2013, Ho ChiMinh City welcomed more than 1 million foreign tourists, ayear-on-year increase of 8 percent, earning 20.6 billion VND, a rise of20 percent over the same period last year. The capital city has so farwelcomed 634,000 foreign tourists this year, up 9.8 percent over thesame period last year.-VNA