After the peak time in the Tet holiday, many travel firms in HCMC have offered steep discounts to attract domestic tourists, especially those taking tours by air to central and northern Vietnam.Tran Van Long, general director of Viet Media Travel, said demand has not declined compared to the same period last year. However, this is the low season, so the firm is joining forces with air carriers and service suppliers to offer discounts of up to 30% to woo more customers.The company’s five-day tour to central Vietnam is priced at VND5-6 million instead of the normal VND8-9 million, while the five-day tour for Hanoi, Halong and Sapa now costs VND7-8 million compared to the previous VND12 million.“The peak travel season has passed, and thus air carriers offer many incentives for travel firms. It is now the best time for travel thanks to huge discounts,” Long said.Vietravel as a major tour operator in the city has also offered discounts of 45% on tours departing for Phu Yen, Kien Giang-Cambodia, Dalat and Nha Trang as well as other tours to the northern and central regions.Meanwhile, Saigontourist Travel Service Company has announced the cooperation program with hotels nationwide of Saigontourist Holding Company to offer a 40% discount for customers buying tours and staying at hotels of Saigontourist. Other travel firms such as Lien Bang Travelink and Fiditourist have also launched promotion programs with lower discounts.Nguyen Thi Khanh, vice chairwoman of the HCMC Tourism Association, said that the association’s members and Vietnam Airlines have almost concluded negotiations on a new travel stimulus program for domestic tourism. With this program, dozens of member companies will be able to buy tickets of Vietnam Airlines at reduced prices, she added.“We will officially announce the program late this month with attractive promotions,” Khanh said.Last year, the association and Vietnam Airlines also joined hands to provide promotional domestic package tours with discounts of 35-40%. The program attracted dozens of thousands of customers.