Bình Định and Korean Air should work together to launch a direct air route from the central Vietnamese province to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by the end of this year, an official said on August 21.

At a working session with a Korean Air delegation in HCM City, Chairman of the Bình Định People’s Committee Phạm Anh Tuấn requested the provincial People’s Committee Office, the Department of Tourism, the Department of External Affairs, and relevant agencies establish a working group and accomplish procedures in order to open the air route by the year's end.

Having realised the importance of partnering with the aviation industry to draw tourists and contribute to tourism development, Bình Định has implemented many activities to call for investment, open charter flights, and organise many cultural, sports and tourism events.

From 2020 to July 2024, the province attracted 465 investment projects in various fields with registered capital totalling over VNĐ184.3 trillion (nearly US$7.4 billion), including 22 tourism projects capitalised with VNĐ22.38 trillion. This result indicates that domestic and international investors have very high demand for travelling to/from Bình Định by air to survey and explore investment opportunities, he said.

Over 6.68 million tourists visited Bình Định in the first seven months of 2024, an increase of 97.9 per cent over the same period last year. The province also recorded almost VNĐ18.1 trillion in tourism revenue, surging 68.7 per cent year on year.

Tuấn suggested that Korean Air promote cooperation with Vietnamese and international travel agencies to organise charter flights to bring Korean tourists to Bình Định and vice versa in the coming time. He also called on the carrier to introduce the local tourism to travel companies in the RoK and popularise images of Bình Định on its flights and media channels.

Agreering with Bình Định's proposal, a leader of Korean Air committed to collaborate with the Vietnamese province to soon operate charter flights by the end of this year.

Kim Kye Yong, Chief Representative of Korean Air in HCM City, said the airline is looking forward to working with the province to launch flights from the RoK to Quy Nhơn City of Bình Định in the future. It hopes to receive support from the local administration and relevant agencies in this regard.

Bình Định is home to Phù Cát Airport, about 30km to the northwest of Quy Nhơn City. This airport is serving the routes linking Quy Nhơn with HCM City and Hà Nội operated by Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Jetstar Pacific, and Bamboo Airways.

In 2023, it handled 10,350 flights with over 1.9 million passengers. The respective figures stood at 2,505 and over 450,000 during the first seven months of 2024. — VNS