Instead of returning to her hometown for the Lunar New Year, Vo Thi Cam Tu (33 years old, living in Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh City) spent all her Tet bonus money on traveling abroad, after a year of not leaving the city.
On January 21st, about eight days before Tet (Lunar New Year), she contacted a group specializing in "hunting" for last-minute tours. According to them, a tour to Thailand was quoted at 11 million VND, an increase of about 3 million VND compared to the beginning of January.
"The travel agency informed me close to the date that this was an enhanced tour, so the price had increased. I also wanted to experience celebrating the New Year abroad, so I accepted it," Cam Tu said .
Spend moreIn reality, choosing to travel during Tet (Lunar New Year) is a rather "risky" decision because tourists have to compete with the crowds buying tickets to return home for Tet, not to mention the high prices of services. The case of Van Lam My Phung (26 years old, living in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City) is an example.
Phụng chose to travel to Da Nang just before Tet (Lunar New Year). According to their initial plan, she and her husband were supposed to depart on January 25th (the 26th day of the 12th lunar month), but had to postpone it to January 27th (the 28th day of the 12th lunar month) because there were no more plane tickets available.
"The plane tickets sold out so quickly. I booked early, but even on January 27th, only the night flights were available. The round-trip ticket cost 2.9 million VND per person. My husband and I have to go home to celebrate Tet on the third day of the Lunar New Year, so we have limited time and can't use any other means of transportation," she shared.
Moreover, finding accommodation was also difficult for My Phung, as all the mid-range hotels were fully booked. After much deliberation, she reluctantly chose a high-end hotel that still had rooms available for 1.8 million VND per night.
"Accommodation costs have doubled, so we've had to cut back on some activities in our itinerary. But finding a place to stay during this peak season is a relief," she confided.
Meanwhile, with the philosophy of enjoying himself while staying within budget, Ngoc Hau (21 years old, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) started "hunting" for plane tickets for his trip to Da Lat before Tet (January 20-23) early on, but still couldn't find cheap prices. The media employee hastily booked a sleeper bus ticket for 450,000 VND, enduring his chronic motion sickness to save on travel costs.
"I'm not the type of person to use the phrase 'It's Tet (Vietnamese New Year)' as an excuse to splurge. The inflated airfare during peak season is quite unreasonable," Hau said.
According to surveys, tickets for popular routes have sold out despite airlines continuously increasing flights in the days leading up to Tet. Main routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang/ Hanoi and vice versa have achieved occupancy rates above 90%. In addition, routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Chu Lai (Quang Nam)/Hue/Vinh/Pleiku/Nha Trang... are all fully booked.
Despite rising tour prices, domestic tourism remains popular.
Airfare prices once again reflect the supply and demand dynamics of the market this year, directly impacting tour prices at some travel agencies.
Mr. Pham Anh Vu, Deputy General Director of Viet Travel, expressed surprise at the high number of tour bookings for the Tet holiday, despite the company making some adjustments to tour prices due to the rapid depletion of airline tickets as Tet approached.
As of January 23rd, the company had achieved over 90% of its Tet holiday tour plan with nearly 200 tour routes, serving more than 10,000 registered customers. Tours using domestic transportation are expected to close on January 27th. Business figures also show a 25% increase in the number of customers compared to the same period in 2024, with over 70% being family groups participating in tours of 4 days or more.
In addition, overseas tours account for 65% of the total number of tourists, with China, Northeast Asia (Japan, South Korea), Thailand, and Europe being the most popular destinations.
Domestic tours focus on destinations such as Nha Trang, the Central Highlands, Da Nang, and the Northwest region of Vietnam.
This year's trend of traveling by car has also seen a 20% increase in the number of groups compared to the same period last year, as well as growth in demand for travel during the Lunar New Year holiday among young customers.
Sharing the same view, Ms. Trang Nguyen, Head of Sales at BestPrice Travel Company, also noted that airfares have increased by 20-40% compared to normal days. This has led to corresponding price adjustments for tour packages, especially all-inclusive tours with fixed itineraries.
Statistics from the sales department of the aforementioned unit show that the number of customers registering for tours has increased by 20-30%, mainly concentrated in popular destinations such as Da Lat, Nha Trang, Ha Long, Northwest Vietnam, and Sa Pa.
Notably, many destinations have achieved occupancy rates above 90%, reflecting high tourism demand and a strong recovery of the domestic tourism industry during this Tet holiday season.
Tourists often prioritize destinations located near their places of residence, resulting in an even distribution across the three regions of North, Central, and South Vietnam.
Particularly in the early part of the year, pilgrimage tourism clearly dominated, with famous spiritual destinations such as Bai Dinh Pagoda (Trang An, Ninh Binh), Yen Tu (Quang Ninh), and Hue recording a significant increase in visitors.
This trend reflects the need to combine spring travel with traditional cultural beliefs, offering tourists meaningful experiences both spiritually and culturally.
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