Tourists flock to Dien Bien, businesses continuously open tours

Mr. Pham Van Tien, An Tam Travel Company (Hanoi) said that the number of customers interested in Dien Bien tours to attend the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory has increased dramatically. "Because we travel by car, we can easily sell more tours. Customers who book early will be served well with the services in the tour," said Mr. Tien.

The 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory (May 7, 1954 - May 7, 2024) will feature a military parade and march. (Illustration: Vien Minh)

According to Mr. Tien, at present, tourists booking tours to Dien Bien must accept staying at accommodation facilities far from the center, or accommodation facilities with moderate facilities.

“When booking a tour to Dien Bien, customers are usually allowed to stay at a 3-star hotel, but due to the large number of people, all hotels are fully booked, so we have to inform customers that they will have to stay at a slightly lower quality facility. However, customers still 'close the deal' and keep asking questions,” said Mr. Tien.

Currently, the price of the 3-day, 2-night Dien Bien tour of An Tam Company is being sold at 2.8 million VND/person. According to the schedule, guests will travel from Hanoi to Dien Bien on May 6 and stay at an accommodation facility in Tuan Giao district (about 70km from the center). On the morning of May 7, guests will move to the center of Dien Bien City and watch the parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory.

On the night of May 7, visitors will rest and visit the central area of Dien Bien City. The next day, visitors will visit other tourist attractions as per the normal schedule.

Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, a tour sales representative in Hanoi, said that in recent days, the number of customers asking about tours to Dien Bien has increased sharply.

Travel companies continuously organize groups of about 40 people/vehicle traveling from Hanoi. The companies all have plans to prepare, depending on the number of guests booking, to book more vehicles for the day.

Ms. Hue explained that because all accommodation and resort facilities in Dien Bien City were fully booked for the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory, tourists had difficulty finding a place to stay when traveling independently. Therefore, tourists were forced to buy package tours to be able to watch the military parade on this anniversary.

“The number of customers buying tours has increased dramatically, and businesses are also struggling to organize tours because many services are overloaded,” said Ms. Hue.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien, the owner of a motel in Dien Bien, her establishment has 5 rooms with a normal price of about 300,000 VND/room/day and night. On holidays, the accommodation establishments will charge an additional 200,000 VND/room. Although the price has increased, all 5 rooms in Ms. Lien's motel have been booked a month in advance of the Dien Bien Phu Victory Anniversary.

"Guests must deposit 500,000 VND to hold a room. Not only my establishment, but other accommodations in the area are also fully booked. I called many places to book more rooms for acquaintances but was not successful," said Ms. Lien.

At Muong Thanh Dien Bien Hotel, the receptionist also announced that all rooms were fully booked from May 2 to May 7.

"Currently, the hotel has no rooms for rent during the 70th Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory. Guests booked a month in advance, so we have closed the book a long time ago," said this employee.

Room rates at this hotel range from 1.5 million VND (single or double room) to 10 million VND (VIP room) per day and night. On holidays, the hotel will charge an additional 200,000 VND per room.

According to Decision No. 821/QD-BQP of the Ministry of National Defense on approving the Project to organize a parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954 - May 7, 2024), the parade will be held on the morning of May 7 after the rally at Dien Bien Provincial Stadium.
Participating in the parade are 4 forces: Artillery force; Air Force flying salute; Parade force; and force standing on the field with more than 12,000 people.
The highlight of the parade was the participation of the artillery force including 18 105mm howitzers and 12 helicopters flying over the stands. This was followed by a performance by 9 helicopters carrying the Party flag and the national flag flying over the stage.
Next was the performance of the Parade Block and finally the performance of the Art Block.

Thanh Lam

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