Sleeper train tickets sold out this summer

Ms. Minh Anh, a tourist from Hanoi, was looking for train tickets for a group of 7 people to Quang Binh on June 28. She found that there were almost no good-time sleeper tickets left, only a few single tickets, so the group would have to split into several compartments. Soft-seat tickets were still available, but the travel time was about 10 hours, which was tiring, so this was not the group's preferred option. She had traveled to Quang Binh by train two years ago, and booking close to the date was very convenient, so she did not think it would be as difficult as this year.

According to a survey on the morning of June 22, sleeper tickets from Hanoi to Dong Hoi for the period of June 28 or 29 were almost sold out, groups of 4-5 people could not buy tickets in the same compartment. Some good time slots were sold out, such as SE19 (departing at 7:40 p.m., arriving at 6 a.m.) or SE17 (departing at 8:25 p.m. and arriving at 7:54 a.m.); SE1 (departing at 8:55 p.m. and arriving at 6:53 a.m.) with 3 seats left. The situation of sold out tickets, especially good time slots, for the Hanoi - Dong Hoi route lasted until mid-July.

The Hanoi - Lao Cai route on the weekend of June only has three sleeper seats left on June 22; tickets for June 28 and 29 are sold out. In July, the number of weekend tickets is also low, such as one ticket left on July 5; 13 tickets left on July 6; and no tickets left on July 12 and 13.

Sleeper car on high quality train SE19/20 from Hanoi to Da Nang

Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat, General Director of AZA Travel, said that train travel is increasingly popular in the context of high airfares. In many years of working in tourism, Mr. Dat "has never seen a situation where train tickets are sold out like the current situation."

Mr. Pham Anh Vu, Marketing Director of Du Lich Viet, noticed that the demand for train travel of tourists this summer has increased by 40% compared to the same period last year. Currently, the company has more than 20 rail tour programs, mainly to famous tourist destinations such as Ninh Chu, Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Da Nang for Ho Chi Minh City visitors and to Quang Binh, Sa Pa for Hanoi visitors. Train tourists will book sleeper tickets, accounting for 80%, soft seat tickets only accounting for 20%.

On June 21, the company's ticket office received a request from a group of 12 people traveling to Nha Trang, departing on the morning of June 25, but they could not book the same cabin. If they wanted to share a cabin, they had to choose the noon flight, arriving in Nha Trang at 9:30 p.m. The company representative commented that this was a "surprise" because in the same month last June, booking tickets in the same cabin for a group of 12 people from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang "was not difficult".

"High airfares are causing tourists to switch to traveling by train," Mr. Vu commented.

A survey on the morning of June 22 showed that sleeper tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet for the weekend of June were almost sold out: tickets were sold out on June 28, and there were only four seats left on June 29. Trips to Nha Trang at the end of June also only had a few sleeper tickets left, and groups of 5 or more could not buy tickets in the same cabin.

Mr. Tuan Minh, owner of a travel agency in Hanoi, said that to reserve a spot for a train tour, one must book one month in advance, making it difficult to ensure that everyone shares a cabin if the group is large. However, during peak season and when the target group is large, travel agencies can request the railway to add more carriages without incurring additional costs for both parties to meet tourism needs. The reservation policy with the railway is also more flexible, requiring only 15-30 days of prepayment. For airlines, prepayment is required and cancellation policies are strict.

Passengers board a train at Saigon station in April.

Another advantage of rail that makes small-group travelers love it is that it hardly increases prices and does not have a "price banding mechanism" like airlines, according to a representative of AZA Travel. Mr. Dat said that only the airline knows about the price banding of tickets, and sometimes buying late costs twice as much as buying early. Before the pandemic, the rail industry faced many difficulties due to lack of innovation and good airfares, "but the situation is changing."

Although the railway is becoming more and more popular, Mr. Dat said that the industry still has many areas for improvement. In addition to investing in building new and modern cars, tourism products associated with the railway need to ensure providing a "full package of transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment" to satisfy customers.

VN (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/chay-ve-tau-giuong-nam-dip-he-385380.html