It's difficult to find 'super cheap' Tet holiday tours.

After two disastrous years, the tourism industry is hoping that positive signals from the 2022 Lunar New Year tour market will be a springboard for revival in the new year.

Relaxation tours are on the rise.

"This is the first year I haven't gone back to my hometown for Tet. I'll dedicate all 7 days of my holiday to traveling , to make up for a year of frustration from being tied down," said Hai Quan (29 years old, residing in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) after "showing off" to his friends that he had booked plane tickets and services to Quy Nhon and Da Nang for the 2022 Lunar New Year.

Quân recounted: "Initially, I also planned to go to Hanoi to celebrate Tet with my family. However, the pandemic situation in the northern provinces was tense, and I have elderly grandparents at home, so I decided to stay in the city and travel instead. After Tet, when the pandemic subsides, I will go home to visit."

Tourists visiting Ha Long Bay

LÃ NGHĨA HIẾU

In fact, since the fourth lockdown, many people in Ho Chi Minh City have started traveling again. The tourism market has gradually warmed up following positive developments in controlling the pandemic in the city and at various destinations.

Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, Marketing and Communications Director of Fiditour Travel Company, said that the demand for travel during the Lunar New Year holiday this year started to pick up from the end of December 2021, as evidenced by the company's online commercial channels such as its website and fanpage. Not only individual travelers but also groups and companies for year-end events have recorded many positive signs.

Tourists are increasingly focusing on 2-4 day itineraries. Besides popular destinations like Phu Quoc, Da Lat, Nha Trang, and Vung Tau, routes to Central Vietnam, the East, West, and North are also quite attractive, especially new destinations in the Mekong Delta and the inner and outer areas of Ho Chi Minh City.

"For the individual traveler market, most customers are oriented towards optional tours, free & easy options, and booking individual services such as car rentals, airline tickets, and hotel reservations. Post-pandemic travel behavior has also changed significantly. Specifically, programs mainly focus on relaxation and leisure, avoiding excessive sightseeing or crowded entertainment venues. Destinations and services must ensure safety and prevent the spread of disease," Ms. Thu explained.

At Vietravel , the company expects to serve approximately 5,000 customers during the Lunar New Year holiday period from the 25th of the 12th lunar month to the 10th of the 1st lunar month. To date, the number of customers registering for Tet holiday tours at Vietravel has reached about 50% of the plan. This year, most customers are choosing resort tours in Da Lat, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, or "chill" destinations in the Northeast and Northwest regions.

After the pandemic, tourists tend to choose secluded resorts that are close to nature.

KIM THOA

It's difficult to create a "wow" effect regarding the price.

As two parallel industries that always go hand in hand, this year's Lunar New Year season, with unprecedentedly low airfares, is expected to also lead to a significant drop in tour prices. However, representatives of businesses say it is very difficult to create a "wow" effect regarding tour prices.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications, Marketing and Information Technology at TST Tourist Company, analyzed: Airfare is only one of the factors that make up the price of a tour. Airfares have generally decreased significantly this year, but not all times and routes have cheap tickets. Furthermore, hotels, after a long period of exhaustion, are now having to activate their entire systems to serve only 5-10% of their normal capacity, so they must maintain prices that cover operating costs.

According to this source, those who decide to travel at this time are all people who have received 2-3 doses of the vaccine, have a high level of psychological stability, and their top concerns are safety, quality of service, and the novelty of the destination, not traveling for cheap prices. Therefore, travel companies also have to focus heavily on product quality and innovation.

"Most of the hotels used in designing Tet holiday tours are 4-star hotels or higher. The itineraries also have to choose locations with a high level of stability and localities that have prepared well for epidemic prevention. Regarding destinations, tourists now don't want to go on tours with many points of interest but focus on the quality of the experience, so businesses have to be creative and exploit new and attractive features. For example, instead of going to Hue to visit traditional tombs, we built a tour to An Dinh Palace - a place associated with the story of Empress Nam Phuong, which has been recreated in a music video by a famous singer... In short, we have to create a product that is impressive and attractive enough to tourists when they are still undecided," Mr. Man said.

Similarly, Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu stated that tour prices will vary depending on the route, time of year, and airline, but generally, service prices this year are not too low; there won't be 50% discounts or super cheap tours. Travel companies and hotels are carefully balancing prices to stimulate demand, but prices must also be commensurate with the quality of hotel services and tour packages...

Get ready for overseas tours!

On the same day, Vietravel officially launched tours to the West Coast of the United States and the Maldives, departing on December 28th and January 3rd, 6th, and 9th. Prices range from 68.99 million to 99.99 million VND depending on the tour. All passengers traveling to the US, including US citizens, permanent residents, and non-immigrant visa holders, regardless of vaccination status, must provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test or proof of recovery from Covid-19 within the past 90 days. Passengers who are not US citizens traveling to the US on non-immigrant visas must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and provide proof of vaccination before boarding, along with a list of approved vaccines. Vietravel has not yet announced the requirements for the vaccination passport form issued by the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, many travel businesses say they are still unable to organize outbound tours because the government has not yet issued an official policy, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism have not yet provided specific guidance to businesses.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nganh-du-lich-hao-huc-don-tet-kho-co-tour-sieu-re-1851420735.htm