Con Dao loses Hanoi tourists after suspension of direct flights

Hoang Anh, 24, of Hanoi said she had read good things about Con Dao and wanted to visit it, but found there were only connecting flights via Ho Chi Minh City. The four to six hours of flying from Hanoi to Con Dao made her reconsider her plans.

The small archipelago off the southern coast of Vietnam is known for its beautiful nature and historical and other sites like Con Dao Prison, built by the French colonialists in 1861, Van Son Temple and the tomb of Vo Thi Sau, a martyr executed at 18 for resisting the French.

Northern visitor numbers have dropped sharply, and travel companies said the decline in tourist numbers started after Bamboo Airways canceled its direct Hanoi-Con Dao flight in April 2024.

Tourists volunteering in turtle conservation on Con Dao in 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Vinh Le

Dai Viet Tourism in Ha Noi reported a 70% drop in customers after the direct service wound up.

Hoang Viet Travel, another Hanoi travel company, also reported a significant decline in the number of people traveling to Con Dao.

Its deputy director, Hoang Thi Thu, said 80% of their customers going to Con Dao were from the north on pilgrimage tours.

"Northern tourists don't like connecting flights."

Three-day, two-night itineraries are too long for these tourists, but with connecting flights tours could not be comfortably packed into two days, she said.

The ATR 72 planes on the HCMC-Con Dao route, with just 70 seats, cannot accommodate large groups on spiritual group tours, she added.

The Con Dao National Tourism Area management said that the island received 318,000 visitors between May and September this year, a 2% drop from the same period last year.

Aware of the decline in northern visitor numbers, it has been working with travel businesses to increase transport options on Vasco, the only airline currently flying to the island.

Nguyen Phuong Uyen, a 53-year-old businesswoman from Hanoi, has been visiting Con Dao twice a year on pilgrimage tours.

She used to book tours through travel companies to save time and effort, but now makes her own way there because tours are too lengthy, she said.

"I don't care about ticket prices. I'll still go, but I need a schedule that fits my work."

Tourists visit the grave of martyr Vo Thi Sau in Con Dao. Photo by VnExpress/Tam Linh

The number of visitors to the island from the south remains unaffected since they can fly directly from HCMC or even take the ferry from Vung Tau.

Besides, they tend to seek recreation, nature exploration and historical tours, making them open to longer trips.

Travel company Du Lich Viet is hoping for a quick solution to the transport issue to meet northern tourists' requirements.

It is awaiting official announcements about new direct services, allowing it to resume promoting Hanoi-Con Dao tours without much change in pricing.

Hoang Viet Travel shares this hope as the year-end pilgrimage season is approaching.