Supporting 200 million VND/international charter flight to Phu Cat Airport is a noteworthy approach.
This is a policy identified by the locality as unprecedented, aimed at creating a boost for the international tourist market in the 2026-2027 period.
The question is why the budget must support businesses to bring tourists to the province?
The answer lies in the fact that it is impossible to demand new markets to form naturally without initial exploration costs.
In 2025, Gia Lai welcomed about 12.4 million visitors, tourism revenue of about 29,000 billion VND, but international visitors were only about 125,000.
Meanwhile, Gia Lai has a special advantage, the sea, plateaus, indigenous culture and heritage system have the potential to form different journeys of experience.
In 2026, the locality hosts the National Tourism Year with the theme "Great Forests Touching Blue Sea", creating more opportunities to promote destinations to the international market.
But just advertising is not enough, international tourism is a supply chain.
From air routes, travel businesses, hotels, transportation, restaurants, attractions to shopping and experience, everything must be connected into a product that can be sold.
In that chain, aviation is the "entrance". Businesses can gather customers, design package tours and charter whole flights.
But to open a new air route, businesses must face risks in terms of passenger volume, operating costs and availability.
A reasonable support package can help share risks during the market formation phase.
It is worth mentioning that Gia Lai not only supports flights.
Reducing 50% of entrance fees for international tourist groups at some destinations, supporting communication for businesses' products is also a way to reduce costs so that tours have competitive prices.
An input support budget can create a larger revenue chain at the back.
Of course, support policies must have clear, public criteria, control the results and avoid the situation of supporting but not creating more substantial markets.
It is necessary to measure by the number of flights, the number of actual visitors, stay time, spending level, return rate and spillover effect for local businesses.
Most importantly, it must be seen as investment costs to open up the market, not indefinite tourism subsidies.
Gia Lai boldly pilots unprecedented policies as a way to concretize the spirit that if tourism wants to become a key economic sector, it must accept new ways of doing things to expand the market.
Gia Lai does not lack resources to develop tourism, what is lacking is the doors to bring international visitors closer.
To have international visitors, sometimes you have to dare to pay the price for opening roads.
