At this time, the demand for Tet holiday tours and travel services is increasing. Many events and festivals are also being prepared intensively to meet the entertainment and travel needs of the people during the spring season.
Attracting tourists through traditional customs and festivals.
Scheduled to take place from January 18th to 21st, the 2024 Vietnamese Tet Festival, themed "Vietnamese Tet Past and Present," organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association (VCCA), will be held at Le Van Tam Park (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City). This is one of the annual events held during the Lunar New Year season, featuring many activities rich in national cultural identity.
With its main activities focusing on "Celebrating Tet, traveling during Tet, enjoying Tet, watching Tet, and visiting Tet markets," this year's festival is expected to attract and welcome over 80,000 domestic and international tourists. Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, Chairman of VCCA and representative of the co-organizing unit, stated that through the 2024 Vietnamese Tet Festival, the event aims to support the tourism industry in attracting international visitors through cultural festivals, culinary experiences, and hands-on activities.
Food festivals in Ho Chi Minh City attract large numbers of locals and tourists. Photo: HOANG TRIEU
The 2024 Vietnamese Tet Festival is one of the potential events for the city's tourism industry, exploiting and promoting the cultural elements of the traditional Tet holiday. According to Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the event contributes to creating diverse tourism products and a community space for residents and tourists. Ho Chi Minh City is positioning itself as a city of events and festivals and is developing a model of events within events. A series of festive activities lasting from the Gregorian New Year to the Lunar New Year 2024 promise to attract even more tourists.
Construction of the Nguyen Hue Flower Street for the Year of the Dragon (Giap Thin) is expected to take place from January 21st to February 7th. With the theme "Spring of Love, Tet of Reunion," the 2024 Nguyen Hue Flower Street marks the spectacular return of the Year of the Dragon after a 12-year cycle.
Since its first edition in 2004, the Nguyen Hue Flower Street for Tet 2024 has reached its 21st anniversary. Mr. Truong Duc Hung, General Director of Saigontourist Group and Head of the Organizing Committee for the Nguyen Hue Flower Street for Tet 2024, stated that this is a cultural project of great appeal and importance, and Saigontourist Group has been striving to create a unique space for spring excursions and Tet experiences.
Both guided tours and independent travel are bustling.
One popular travel trend this Tet holiday is independent travel, in addition to booking tours and services through travel companies. Ms. Kim Van (residing in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City) said that her family of four has booked plane tickets and hotel accommodations for a trip to Taiwan (China) from the 29th of the 12th lunar month until the 4th day of Tet.
"Booking a tour with a travel company would be an option, but because there are elderly people in the family and we're worried about the tour itinerary being too complicated, we decided to travel independently, even though the cost might be higher than buying a package tour," Ms. Van explained.
Many others also chose to drive from Ho Chi Minh City to the central and northern provinces, combining it with spring travel before and after Tet, amidst rising airfare prices. Mr. Ngoc Thanh (residing in Thu Duc City) said that his family and three friends planned to return to their hometowns by private car, combining it with spring travel. Instead of flying, which takes about two hours but is expensive, he and his friends decided to book hotels at tourist destinations along the way, stopping in Nha Trang and Hue before arriving in Nghe An. The total travel time was about 3 days and 2 nights, but in return, the whole family combined travel with sightseeing.
According to Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Marketing Director of Vietravel Tourism Company, customer demand is increasing. This Tet holiday, with hundreds of domestic and international tours launched by Vietravel since mid-November 2023, the company expects to serve over 150,000 customers. Currently, more than 76,640 customers have registered to purchase Tet tours at Vietravel nationwide, with approximately 58% choosing international tours for their Tet holiday. Popular destinations include Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, China, and Japan.
During this year's Tet holiday, Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry expects to welcome approximately 122,000 international visitors, with hotel occupancy rates at around 90% or higher. Revenue is estimated at 15,000 billion VND.
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