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als with an exquisite gold-plated motif,
fine silk, velvet and other luxury items
such as brass, crystal and gem stones.
Works of art commissioned from well-
known Vietnamese artists will adorn
the walls.
“This masterpiece will be a place
for the most sophisticated travellers to
enjoy Vietnamese culture, history and
gourmet cuisine, and where royal glam-
our and heritage will combine to create
the epitome of elegance. Each VIP cus-
tomer will experience the best of the
best,” says Ha.
Everything is designed in accord-
ance with the particular requirements
and preferences of individual travellers
in mind. A private butler and reception
service will be available round the clock.
In addition, travellers can be transferred
by limousine, helicopter or seaplane be-
tween Hanoi and Halong Bay.
Being bold
The Luxury Travel CEO feels that,
as well as Halong Bay, Vietnam has
many other potential tourism spots
which are ideal for the luxury and ultra-
luxury markets, but they are yet to be
exploited. Meanwhile, he believes the
demand in this segment is increasing
significantly.
This does not mean to say that
Vietnam is failing to tap into the luxury
travel sector as many upmarket trav-
ellers are already arriving to stay in
some of the finest resorts in the coun-
try, such as the Banyan Tree Lang Co
(Hue), The Nam Hai (Quang Nam), Six
Senses Con Dao or, the latest, Amano’i
(Ninh Thuan).
However, Vietnamese tourism has
not made full use of all its potential
resources and, as a must-see destina-
tion, Halong Bay is a perfect location
for discerning travellers to have the
experience of a lifetime on a super-
deluxe cruise.
Investing in an uber-luxury boat is a
bold move by Pham Ha, but this is testa-
ment to his business style; he believes
that to be successful, you must try
something new and lead the market.
Hence, when founding Luxury Travel
ten years ago, Ha planned to drive for-
ward the luxury travel segment while
most other travel companies focused
on budget travellers.
At that time, as tourism was de-
veloping and Vietnam was seen as a
backpacker zone, many of Ha’s friends
and family were skeptical, considering
his plans to be reckless. The luxury
sector was virtually non-existent, with
only a few smart resorts, sophisti-
cated spas and international-standard
golf courses.
Having been a tour guide, sales
and marketing executive and a man-
ager, he had experienced deluxe lux-
ury hotels, resorts and cruises and
had the foresight to realise that the
backpackers would spread the word
about the attractions of Vietnam, and
it wouldn’t be long before the upmar-
ket travellers turned their attention to
the country.
In the last ten years the backpack-
ers visiting Vietnam have been followed
by Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Ange-
lina Jolie who chose to holiday on Con
Dao Island, while Facebook’s CEO Mark
Zuckerburg visited Topas Ecolodge near
Sapa. Vietnam is now a recognised lux-
ury destination, but it could do better.
Luxury Travel’s clients have includ-
ed heads of state, ministers, ambas-
sadors, royalty and leaders of multi-
national corporations. The company
serves over 10,000 luxury travellers per
year, with many tours costing around
$1,000 per person, per day. However,
when Pham Ha started his firm, he him-
seld had just $1,000.
He started to market
his vision through
Google, Yahoo,
Facebook and
Twitter. Howev-
er, at that time booking
a tour and paying via the
internet was not easy.
Most of Luxury Travel’s
first customers were old
acquaintances or con-
tacts that he had made
during his years of work-
ing as a tour guide. But,
as with any successful
company, the most effec-
tive marketing is word of
mouth; as visitors shared
their experiences with
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