Prices start at US$1,950 and depend on the length of a tourist's stay and the type of COVID-19 vaccine
A Ho Chi Minh City-based travel company has recently launched a brand new tour that combines sightseeing and COVID-19 vaccination in the United States, with prices starting at US$1,950.
Named VAC-cation, the tour is offered by Hong Ngoc Ha Travel Company, which is headquartered in District 1.
This is the first time a Vietnamese travel agency has organized a tour combining sightseeing and vaccination services.
A representative of Hong Ngoc Ha Travel told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that several developed countries currently have abundant COVID-19 vaccine resources as well as favorable entry policies.
This is a good opportunity for those who wish to travel abroad and be inoculated against COVID-19 at the same time.
The tour will be based on the free and easy model, which allows clients to customize their trips to best suit their needs, the representative elaborated, adding that the travel firm will provide necessary assistance and guidance in the vaccination process.
Prices are advertised as starting at VND45 million ($1,950), but the exact cost will depend on the length of a tourist’s stay and the type of coronavirus vaccine.
The jabs developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna require a two-dose regimen with a 21-day interval, while Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine needs only one dose, the representative explained.
Travelers are advised to stay in the U.S. for no longer than 31 days, he added.
Those who need treatment for severe side effects after vaccination will be covered by travel insurance.
“We are targeting business people, high-income earners, and white-collar workers who love to travel,” the representative said.
“Guests can go individually or in groups of eight to ten.”
A director of another travel company in Ho Chi Minh City said that such tours may be viable if travelers agree to comply with quarantine regulations in Vietnam.
While it may be simple to enter the U.S., tourists will have to undergo a 21-day quarantine period when they return to the Southeast Asian country despite having been vaccinated, he elaborated.
Vietnam, whose population is around 97 million people, has administered over one million COVID-19 vaccine shots since it rolled out mass inoculation on March 8.
