HANOI, Vietnam, 13 May 2022: After deciding to pivot from long-haul to Asian markets, Absolute Asia Travel, a Vietnamese and Mekong Region inbound tour operator, found cooperation in an unlikely place, handling the first Mongolian group of tourists to Vietnam since the pandemic.
Absolute Asia Travel was hit hard by the onset of Covid-19 and saw its traveller base, predominantly North Americans and Europeans, disappear overnight with the closing of borders.
The pivot in marketing began by hiring Pear Anderson in 2020 as its sales representative for Southeast Asia a shift in strategy that has started to pay off.
As Vietnam started to take steps to reopen earlier this year, Absolute Asia Travel found themselves with an unexpected lead – a Mongolian travel agency, Cruise Tour Mongolia. The tour operator handled the ground arrangements for the first group of Mongolian tourists to enter Vietnam just nine days after the country reopened.
According to Absolute Asia Travel’s director of sales and marketing, Dong Minh Tuan, 130 Mongolian passengers flew in on 24 March 2022. They travelled on an eight-day trip to Hanoi and Phu Quoc. Cruise Tour Mongolia are now planning 15 back-to-back direct flights to Hanoi – and Absolute Asia Travel is their partner for all the arrangements Vietnam-side.
“The Mongolian market is one that Absolute Asia Travel had never even considered before the pandemic. Our strategy of looking at new sources of inbound visitors is starting to pay off now that Vietnam is open. With Southeast and East Asia also reopening, we are keen to start working together with new Asian partners to showcase all Vietnam offers,” Dong Minh Tuan explained.
“We discovered Phu Quoc Island in January through internet research and wrote to many tour operators in Vietnam looking for a company to support us,” said Cruise Tour Mongolia international affairs manager Amar Munkhbat.
“Luckily, we came across Absolute Asia Travel, who were professional in their communications – and their quote was one of the most competitive. The tours have been selling very well and have seen a great deal of interest from Mongolian travellers. From 24 March until now, we have sold 780 seats.”
(Source: Pear Anderson)
