Sales of tours and travel retail services from travel agencies were recorded quite well during this year's fireworks festival.
After three years of stopping organization because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Da Nang International Fireworks Festival returns this year, lasting from June 2 to July 6. The event will have the participation of 8 teams with competition schedules: Team Da Nang - Vietnam will compete on the opening night with Finland; Canada - France (June 7), Italy - Australia (June 8), Poland - UK (June 10) and the final took place on the evening of July 6.
Surveys from tour operators show that sales of tours and retail services are not as explosive as every year, but "at an acceptable level". In the last time the festival was held (in 2019), Viet Tourism Company recorded a revenue of about 4 billion VND. This year, revenue is only about 1 billion VND.
Similarly, Top One Travel - a unit specializing in selling travel combos - also rated the number of visitors as "reasonable" and not explosive. Compared to the end of May, the number of customers booking services at the company increased by about 5%. Best Price Company shared the same comment and added that there are still customers who book last-minute services.
Regarding hotel room capacity, a preliminary survey from the Danang Tourism Association shows that hotels in the central area have a occupancy rate of about 50-60%. The sea area hotels have a rate of about 70%. Data from Mustgo – a partner of more than 500 hotels in Da Nang – shows that the average occupancy is around 70%.
View of a hotel overlooking the Han River, Da Nang. Image: Wink
In general, travel companies rated room occupancy in Da Nang on the occasion of the festival as relatively good, even though no discount policy was applied. Ms. Hoang Tuyet, Director of Top One Travel, said hotels in Da Nang increased prices by about 30% on this occasion. Some hotels in the 4 and 5 star segment are receiving a lot of attention and have recorded good capacity such as Maximilan (4 stars), Hai An Beach (4 stars), Nalod (5 stars), Golden Bay (5 stars).
Surcharge prices during the festival days range from 200.000-400.000 VND, especially hotels located on the coastal route such as Vo Nguyen Giap, Bach Dang, Nguyen Tat Thanh or hotels in the center with views. Watch the beautiful fireworks.
Regarding the fact that the number of visitors did not really explode on this occasion, the travel company attributed it to high airfares. According to Ms. Tuyet, airfares to Da Nang are higher than the average during the summer and the end of May, only slightly lower than during Tet. On average, return airfares from Hanoi are fluctuating around 5-4 million VND, depending on airline and flight time.
Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of Best Price, commented that airfares during the fireworks festival are about 30-50% higher than the same period every year. Therefore, the tour price is also about 10-15% higher. Mr. Tu also said that customers are tending to close tours and last-minute odd services to wait for discounts.
According to a representative of a travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City, higher tour prices slow down purchasing power. In the near future, some companies may "cut interest" to sell off the series of air tickets purchased in advance.
The fireworks show won the first prize of the Finnish team in 2019. Photo: Nguyen Dong
Tourist resorts in Da Nang currently offer stable prices. Ticket price to visit Ba Na Hills tourist area remains 900.000 VND for adults and 750.000 VND for children. Nui Than Tai Hot Spring Park Da Nang has a price of 350.000 - 980.000 VND for each product package.
Answer VnExpress, a representative of the Da Nang Department of Tourism said that it has actively implemented solutions to ensure service quality, attitude, style, and professional service skills at tourism business establishments.
Specifically, the Department of Tourism conducts physical inspection at tourism businesses in June and July to ensure the quality of the accommodation system; request tourism service business establishments to strictly comply with regulations on service prices; direct the management board of Son Tra peninsula and Da Nang tourist beaches to ensure the safety of tourists; fostering and improving the quality of tourism human resources.
At this year's fireworks competition nights, each team has 20 minutes to perform under the theme of each night agreed by the organizers, including: Peace for humanity, Love without borders, Conquering dreams, Dance of the Universe. Nature and the World without distance. Besides the fireworks display, visitors to Da Nang also have the opportunity to enjoy an art show with famous artists.
vnexpress.net
