During September 2nd holiday, tourism is estimated to serve 2.5 million visitors

Hot air balloon release in Ho Chi Minh City attracts locals and tourists during the September 2nd holiday.

A quick report by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism on the tourism situation during the 4-day National Day holiday from September 1 to 4 shows that the country has served an estimated 2.5 million tourists . Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of visitors this year decreased by about 16.7%. The average room occupancy rate at tourist accommodation establishments reached 55% (down 5% compared to the 2022 holiday), with the occupancy rate reaching over 60% on September 1 and 2, 2023.

Short-day tours attract customers

According to the quick report, the target of serving customers and total revenue from tourists in the provinces/cities are basically the same as the same period last year, some localities recorded a significant increase in the number of visitors, mainly concentrated on the 1st and 2nd. In particular, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi continued to lead the number of visitors during the 4-day holiday.

Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City is estimated to welcome and serve 960,000 arrivals (up 4.3% over the same period in 2022). The average room occupancy rate is estimated at about 80%, total revenue from tourists is estimated at VND 2,890 billion, up 5.5% over the same period last year.

Hanoi is expected to welcome and serve 640,000 visitors (up 51% over the same period in 2022. Total revenue from tourists is estimated at more than VND 2,000 billion (up 54% over the same period).

Some other localities recorded a high increase in the number of visitors such as: Khanh Hoa (estimated increase of 141% compared to last year), Ba Ria - Vung Tau (estimated increase of 36.5%), Quang Ninh (estimated increase of 150%), Thanh Hoa (estimated increase of 26.6%), etc.

However, this year, some localities recorded a decrease in the number of visitors. In Kien Giang in particular, unfavorable weather is believed to be the main reason for the number of visitors to the locality decreasing by 32.9% compared to the same period last year. The average occupancy rate of accommodation establishments is estimated at 27%, with total revenue from tourists estimated at over 153 billion VND.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, a bright spot this year is that southern tourists have shown interest in and shifted their choice to short-term tours to experience the ripe rice season and experience the culture of ethnic minorities in the highlands at destinations in the Northeast region such as Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Moc Chau, etc. This proves that the promotion, advertising and inter-regional tourism linkage activities have initially gone into depth and are effective.

Many tourists come to Mang Den on National Day.

In addition, cultural tourism products at some relic sites such as: in the highlands (Mang Den, Kon Tum), along the central heritage (Hue - Hoi An) have also recorded positive signals, attracting mainly family and small group tourists.

For groups of tourists choosing the "staycation" (traveling right in the city where they live) or "drivecation" (self-driving travel), the most popular products are tours to visit historical sites, notably the Saigon Special Forces - City Party Committee - Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee tour, the "Decoding Thang Long Imperial Citadel" tour; the Night tour at Hoa Lo Prison Relic, the tour to experience tourist attractions in the suburbs such as Bat Trang ancient village, Duong Lam ancient village, Son Tay walking street (Hanoi),...

At the same time, localities have festivals and art events to respond to the holiday. The most prominent is the parade program "Ao Dai connecting Tourism with Hanoi Heritage for the first time in 2023" in the old streets, streets with many tourist attractions in Hanoi, or a series of art programs to celebrate the 78th National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the walking street space of Hoan Kiem Lake (Hanoi) and its vicinity;...

This year, there were no serious incidents or problems affecting tourism activities nationwide.

The report of the Department of Tourism also said that travel service business activities have been prepared early and from afar, along with continuing to apply tourism stimulus programs, super discount programs, etc., focusing on waterway tourism products, shopping, accommodation, relaxation, etc.

Businesses are shifting to selling land tours (a package deal at a location, not including travel or hotel costs) and are initially receiving positive feedback from tourists.

Pointing out the reason for the decrease in the number of visitors compared to last year, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration said that total tourism revenue decreased due to the trend of tourists this year being to tighten spending, low purchasing power, cutting costs of public transportation (airplanes, trains) while transportation service prices increased during peak days.

In addition, due to the complicated weather situation, before the holiday there was a warning of heavy rain during the holiday and the impact of storm No. 3 (Saola) in the southern region and the Mekong Delta, the boat routes to the island tourist areas and destinations had to stop operating, affecting tourism activities, customers canceled tours, and changed their schedules to other destinations.

International tourism: Positive signals for the end of the year

The quick report stated that during this year's holiday, the number of international tourists to key tourist destinations has basically increased, which is a positive sign for Vietnam's peak international tourist season from October.

Specifically, Da Nang is estimated to welcome 78,900 international visitors; Hanoi is estimated to welcome more than 41,700 (up 83.6% over the same period); Ho Chi Minh City is estimated to welcome 37,600 (up 15% over the same period); Khanh Hoa is estimated to welcome 23,450 (up 363.34% over the same period);...

International guests are mainly from Korea, China, and the US, with stays of about 4-5 nights.

In addition, during the September 2nd holiday this year, outbound tours are taking over the domestic market share, with a wide variety of departures and destinations, especially in Northeast Asia routes such as China, Taiwan (China), Korea, Japan, Hong Kong (China)...

Popular Southeast Asian routes such as Thailand, Singapore-Malaysia, etc. have an advantage in price and constantly changing destinations. In particular, routes to Europe, America, etc. continue to increase by about 10-15% compared to summer because it has entered the most beautiful season of the year: autumn and the year-end festival season.

As of September 4, 2023, Vietravel has achieved more than 90% of its holiday travel plan, the number of customers booking tours increased slightly by about 20%, of which 60% of the tours sold were outbound tours; Saigontourist Travel Service Company has also sold nearly 90% of its holiday tour plan this year with departure dates from August 29 to September 3.

Preliminary statistics of the entire system of 24 offices and 18 branches of Saigontourist Travel nationwide show that domestic tourists during this period increased by nearly 24%, and international tourists increased by more than 10% compared to the same period last year.

The results of tourism activities during the National Day holiday on September 2nd show that, despite many difficulties due to both subjective and objective reasons, domestic tourism has recovered, providing a lever for international tourism. In particular, localities have kept pace with product innovation and promotion of local specialties to attract domestic and foreign visitors. This is an optimistic sign for the year-end holiday season and the inbound tourist season of the Vietnamese market.

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