Vietnamese football supporters travel to Thailand
03/12/07 (GMT+7)
Vietnam Travellers to Thailand, yesterday morning 60 Vietnamese travellers with clarinets and flags, led by Vietrantour, landed in Thailand. More than 100 travellers will arrive in Bangkok today under Saigontourist’s tour. They are Vietnamese football supporters, who have gone to Thailand to cheer the national soccer squad.
The first match of the national U23 soccer squad is expected to take place tomorrow, December 1. Travel firms have forecast that several thousand Vietnamese fans will arrive in Thailand by air or by land to watch the match at the stadium.
Nguyen Thi Huyen, tour operator under Vietrantour, said that many Vietnamese travellers did not go to Thailand under the tours provided by travel firms, but booked air tickets to Thailand themselves. These are travellers who have been to Thailand several times. Budget air carriers Air Asia or Nok Air now offer a lot of flights with different airfares, bringing more choices to travellers.
In addition to the said 60 travellers, who set foot in Thailand yesterday morning, Vietratour is going to bring 20 more to Thailand prior to December 30. Meanwhile, Saigontourist said that it would also lead 100 travellers to Thailand, leaving Ho Chi Minh City on December 30.
Air Asia now provides three flights to Bangkok a day from Hanoi, at $180 for a return ticket, but all of the flights are nearly fully booked. Especially, tickets are running out for the flights on the days just before or after the semi-final and final matches.
Nok Air offers two flights a day, at $86/one-way ticket including tax.
Anticipating the victory of the U23 national squad in the qualifier, more than 40 clients have booked tours with Transviet to fly to Thailand to attend the semi-final and final matches. 150 other clients have booked tours to Thailand in December to enjoy the ‘SEA Games’ atmosphere’.
According to Dai Nam, a football fan in Hanoi, it will cost some VND5-6mil to take a tour to Thailand, affordable for him.
“I’m trying to arrange my time so that I can watch the most important matches. If I cannot book a tour, I will travel by land and go through Laos,” Mr Nam said.
Huy Hoan, who lives in Dong Da district in Hanoi, said that he learnt that Vietnam’s national squad would play in Nakhon Ratchasima, 300 km from Bangkok. Therefore, it would be difficult for him to travel himself from Bangkok to the city. “It would be better to go on a tour,” he said.
During the 5-day tour provided by travel firms, travellers will be able to watch Vietnam’s U23 squad battle Malaysia and Singapore, and travel to the cities of Pattaya and Bangkok.
(Source: VNE)
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