Vietnam tourism has reopened after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the number of visitors increasing during the summer. Taking advantage of this psychology, many people have taken advantage of social networks to sell cheap travel combos, thereby defrauding consumers.
Turn yourself into a fat "prey"
Ms. Le Thi Huong at 79 Pho Hue (Hai Ba Trung District) and her husband planned to organize a summer vacation in Phu Quoc in early July 2022. Instead of going on a tour, Ms. Huong chose to buy a cheap Phu Quoc travel combo from an agent on the social network Facebook for 2.5 million VND/person.
However, when I called the airline and hotel to confirm, I received a notification that the booking was canceled because I did not pay within 24 hours. “When I called the seller, they immediately blocked my call, making it impossible for me to call or text them anymore,” Ms. Huong shared.
Ms. Huong is just one of many victims who were scammed when buying a travel combo. On June 7, the Vietnamese tourism business community simultaneously shared information about the incident in which a group of 144 tourists bought a combo to Phu Quoc (Kien Giang province) but only found out at the airport that they had been scammed and did not have plane tickets. Two years ago, there was also an incident in which the owner of an airline ticket office in Nui Truc alley (Ba Dinh district) suddenly "disappeared" after selling tens of billions of dong worth of cheap travel combos to tourist destinations such as: Da Nang, Con Dao, Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon...
Tourists experience diving at Pearl Island, Phu Quoc
Director of Vietnam Unique Tours Company Pham Dinh Ha said that one of the tricks that scammers use to scam tourists is to offer combos with super cheap prices, but the accompanying services are up to 5-star standards. In addition to the above tricks, these subjects also use many other forms of fraud such as cheap combos, voucher liquidation or 10-ticket/year flight ticket packages with super cheap prices.
There is also a trick to trick customers into buying tickets that are about 1 - 1.5 million VND cheaper than the market price, but they can still use them because they registered to buy air tickets in installments. After using them, customers will be asked for money from the installment travel application.
“To deceive the authorities after committing fraud, the subjects often lock social media accounts, block or delete contact information. Customers only realize they have been scammed when they lose money or have used services that are not as advertised,” Mr. Pham Dinh Ha informed.
What to do to avoid being scammed?
Director of We Travel Nguyen Duc Viet shared that cheap travel combos do not mean scams. Because this is a combination of two or more travel services, the most common being transportation (air tickets) and accommodation (hotels, resorts). The price of the combo is also lower than the tour because the services are limited.
However, customers are easily "trapped" by sellers with ambiguous information. "In recent years, travel combos have become the main business product of travel agencies because of their high efficiency, helping tourists save effort, time and choose a reasonable travel schedule. However, travel combos are like many other goods and products, there are good ones and bad ones, so customers need to be alert and consider carefully before choosing" - Mr. Nguyen Duc Viet shared.
Tourists to Yen Island, Nha Trang
Agreeing with this opinion, Director of Vietsense Travel Company Nguyen Van Tai advised that if customers see a service combo with an unusually low price compared to the general level, they should carefully check it carefully and not rush to buy it. In addition, customers need to understand that a combo is just a group of services, not all the full services for a trip like a tour. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully research what services the combo includes, the level of quality, quantity/time of using the combo service (how many days and nights to stay, one-way or round-trip tickets)...
“Customers must save all relevant information during the combo purchase process such as payment, email, messages... When transacting, the buyer must ask the combo provider to make a contract with detailed terms about flights, hotels, ticket prices and other arising costs, and responsibilities if the contract is violated. In particular, if there are any unusual signs, the buyer must promptly report to the police to receive support to protect their legal rights,” Mr. Nguyen Van Tai stated.
Similarly, Vice President of Hanoi Tourism Association Trinh Thi My Nghe advised that there are many units and individuals selling cheap travel combos on the market. To have a quality trip, before buying a combo ticket, consumers need to find out about the service information that tourists enjoy, such as expiration date, whether the combo is for a family or for one person, what resort services customers enjoy, means of transportation included in the combo or customers are self-sufficient...
“Before buying a travel combo, consumers should visit the seller’s website to carefully review the information and feedback from customers who have purchased travel combos from these companies. Thereby, they will understand the quality of service that the business provides before spending money on a travel combo,” Ms. Trinh Thi My Nghe advised.
Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Pham Duy Nghia - CEO of Vietfoot Travel, analyzed that cheap travel combos are created when the seller "eats very thinly" and can only make a profit of 50,000 VND/combo, so the quantity should be concerned. The selling price is cheap but all basic services are cut, no tickets to scenic spots are purchased; There are also cases where the seller accepts to sell at a loss for other purposes.
"In order to limit the phenomenon of defrauding consumers through selling cheap travel combos on social networks Zalo and Facebook, the General Department of Tourism has also issued a document directing localities to review and re-examine all tourism business activities, ensuring service quality for tourists and putting tourists first. Because of sophisticated fraud tricks, the subjects set up ticket sales channels and after achieving their goals, they automatically locked and canceled the website, making it difficult for authorities to manage and punish. To protect themselves, tourists should be wary of cheap tour and combo programs and should choose reputable and trustworthy travel brands," said Nguyen Quy Phuong, Director of the Department of Tourism (General Department of Tourism).
