Exciting year-end travel with festival tour series

In the last month of the year, a series of festivals from North to South helps the tourism market become more vibrant, creating momentum for launching new tours and boosting the number of year-end tour purchases.

Festival season paves way for new tour

Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year are becoming the "launching pad" for event tours and festival tours to take the lead. This is also the period when the tourism industry records a clear recovery after 10 months of positive growth.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, in the first 10 months of 2025, domestic visitors reached about 125 million, international visitors are estimated to reach 17.2 million, bringing in tourism revenue of about 77,400 billion VND. This data creates expectations for a breakthrough in the last two months of the year - the time when visitors move the most.

Vietnam tourism promotes connections, creates new tour routes before the atmosphere spreads everywhere.

Mr. Pham Anh Vu, Deputy General Director of Viet Travel Company, said that the end of the year is the busiest season for international visitors. Notably, airlines such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet have increased the frequency of international flights, especially night flights to Japan, Korea, Australia, etc., helping to enhance the experience and extend the length of stay of tourists.

This year, Ho Chi Minh City plans to organize the River Festival at the end of 2025, while other localities will launch a series of activities such as the Sa Pa Winter Festival, Ba Den Mountain Festival (Tay Ninh), Christmas and New Year programs, etc. This is considered a "golden opportunity" for businesses to build new products and connect inter-regional tours.

Mr. Vu forecasts that the number of international visitors at the end of the year will increase by 20-25%, concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau and the Mekong Delta. In addition, green tours, health care, and agricultural experiences will continue to be the main product lines.

Regarding the international tourist market, Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of BestPrice, informed that the company is expanding to the Australian, American, European and North Asian tourist groups. The number of international tourists is expected to increase continuously from November 2025 to the end of the first quarter of 2026, while domestic tourists remain stable thanks to the year-end holiday season.

The trend of foreign tourists choosing destinations has also changed. Instead of "just sightseeing", they prioritize long-term stays combined with health care, relaxation and local experiences. The most visited destinations include Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Northwest, Sa Pa and Ninh Binh.

Domestic tour prices increase slightly

Along with the increased demand, tour prices this year tend to increase slightly due to operating costs, peak season hotel room prices and exchange rate fluctuations. However, competition between routes helps many tours maintain prices or even reduce them.

According to BenThanh Tourist, domestic tours at the end of the year only increased slightly: Northern tours for Lunar New Year cost 12.39 million VND (up 1.6%); Da Nang tours cost 9.99 million VND (up 6.3%). On the contrary, many international tours have better prices than last year, Thailand tours from 11.59 million VND (down 22%), Taiwan (China) tours for Tet 2026 cost 18.99 million VND (down 17%).

Many travel agencies launch stimulus campaigns to maintain competitiveness.

To maintain competitiveness, businesses launch stimulus campaigns such as hotel combos - entertainment tickets, incentives for event chains, MICE and team-building promotions.

Despite the vibrant market, the end-of-year weather still poses many risks. The Mekong Delta is at risk of flooding due to high tides; landslides appear in Da Lat; the Central region is often affected by storms and floods.

"We proactively communicate the status of risky areas and have alternative plans in place as soon as an incident occurs to help tourists feel secure and reduce sudden tour cancellations. In addition, businesses waive or reduce tour change and postponement fees in case of natural disasters and have a clear cancellation policy to maintain customer confidence," said Mr. Bui Thanh Tu. A BestPrice representative said that if an area is affected, they will quickly transfer customers to other routes within the region or indoor experiences, health care, and cuisine to maintain revenue at the end of the year.

It can be said that with the flexibility of travel agencies, the tourism picture at the end of 2025 is still promising. The combination of festivals - new products - stimulus incentives is creating a strong driving force for the tourism industry towards a more vibrant and safer peak season.

Han Ly

Source: https://vtv.vn/du-lich-cuoi-nam-soi-dong-voi-chuoi-tour-le-hoi-100251126084448109.htm