At the moment, to fly direct to Indonesia, passengers can only choose flights of the low-cost carrier AirAsia. They have to transit in Singapore on Vietnam Airlines’ services for a lengthy journey which only takes two hours on direct flights.

Vietnam Airlines earlier informed in Vietnam Heritage magazine that the direct flights would open this month. However, sources from local tourism companies said the launch was now set for every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from December 2.

Tran Xuan Hung, director of Viking Travel & Media said his partners in Indonesia had purchased air tickets for the new route to take visitors to Vietnam.

AirAsia also operates four flights a week between HCMC and Indonesia but the flights are often full, making it difficult for local clients to buy tickets.

The local tourism industry will enjoy huge opportunities to develop the Indonesian market thanks to Vietnam Airlines’ direct air connection with the nation, Hung said.

“This is really good information as we now are focusing on tapping the Indonesian market, with the stable arrivals of Indonesian tourists to Vietnam weekly,” Hung noted.

Indonesian travelers tend to choose four-to-five-day tours to HCMC and My Tho or to Hanoi and then call at Halong Bay, Hung said. He noticed many local tour operators have yet to enter the potential visitor-generating market at present.