Published:  00:00 Wednesday - March 16, 2011

The local firm Huong Giang Travel is teaming up with Turkish Airlines for outbound tours for people from Vietnam to explore the destinations that the carrier flies to in parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Ngo Minh Duc, director of Huong Giang Travel, told the Daily on the phone on Monday the outbound tours arranged by the company and the airline took in attractive old and modern places, including ancient heritage sites in Turkey, Israel as well as Bangkok.

Duc said Huong Giang Travel had chosen Israel because Turkish Airlines currently offered convenient connectivity for its flights from HCMC to Bangkok, Istanbul and Tel Aviv. Moreover, Turkey and Israel are emerging as the destinations for Vietnamese travelers.

Turkish Airlines is the carrier of customers for the outbound tours while Huong Giang Travel makes use of the airline’s wide flight network to design appropriate programs for travelers from Vietnam to visit places of great historical and cultural value in Israel, Turkey and elsewhere in the world.

Duc said Huong Giang Travel would assist Vietnamese passport holders in completing all required procedures and getting visas from Israeli and Turkish embassies in Hanoi for their entry into the two countries.

Huong Giang Travel has launched a 10-day tour that combines renowned ancient destinations such as Nazareth, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Goreme Open Air Museum in Cappadocia. This “Hello Israel and Turkey” package costs US$3,719 for guests departing from HCMC and US$3,949 for those from Hanoi.

Huong Giang is working with Turkish Airlines over free and easy packages of air-tickets, hotel rooms and breakfasts for people in Vietnam to tour Bangkok. The prices start from US$259 per person for economy-class air-tickets and from US$409 for business-class reservations.

Duc expected the free and easy ‘one-stop-shop’ packages would attract customers who want travel from HCMC to Bangkok for a weekend of relaxation and shopping.

Huong Giang has launched the packages after Thailand’s aviation authority approved Turkish Airlines to disembark and welcome new guests on board its planes at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, including those passengers on its flights to and from HCMC.

 Turkish Airlines commenced its Istanbul-Bangkok-HCMC service on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays in late December last year. The airline uses the 270-seat Airbus 340 aircraft for this route, which arrives at Tan Son Nhat at 4:50 p.m. and leaves this international airport in Vietnam’s economic center at 8:30 p.m. of those days.

Source: The Saigon Times