Hanoi (VNA) – Thousands of tourism packages with discounts of up to 40 percent will be offered at the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM 2016) which will take place in Hanoi between Aprilܫ 14 and 1ဣ7.

The first day of the event will be reserved for participating enterprises to meet and sign cooperation contracts. The fair will be open to the public on the last two days. Some 15,000 tours with a 20-30 percent discount and 20,000 cheap airline tickets will be sold at the event, according to the VITM organisation board. Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association (VTA) Vu The Binh, who is also head of the organising board, said the event is expected to see the participation of 3,000 businesses and 62,000 visitors. Deputy Director of Vietrantour Pham Bich Ngoc said her company plans to offer discounts of up to 30 percent for 9,999 international and domestic tours at the fair. This year, the Vietrantour stand expects to draw more than 10,000 visitors, Ngoc said, adding that her staff is ready to provide specific information on tours to more than 500 destinations at home and abroad. The agency’s key packages are the domestic sites of Da Nang – Hoi An, Hue, Tuy Hoa, Phu Quoc, Ha Giang, Cao Bang and Sa Pa, and international destinations including Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore. Meanwhile, Director General of APT Travel Nguyen Hong Dai said the company will give discounts up to 40 percent for those who buy its tours at the event. As many as 200 bus tickets to Sa Pa will also be given away during the fair, Dai said. In response to the event’s theme “Vietnam – The paradise of sea and island tourism”, Saigontourist will also offer more summer sea and island tourist products. It was reported that 18.7 million Vietnamese travelled for leisure in the first quarter of this year.-VNA