Tourism is booming during the April 30th holiday.

Báo Thanh niên•16/04/2023

Trains and planes are all fully booked.

"Train tickets are really popular this year. Last week I tried to find tickets to Nha Trang and they were all sold out. Even half a month in advance, there were no seats left. Airfare is expensive this year, so I was planning a change of scenery and a train trip, but I ended up missing out," lamented Mr. Thanh Hai (from Ho Chi Minh City) after the Vietnam Railways Corporation's online ticket sales website closed.

'Nóng' du lịch lễ 30.4 - 1.5 - Ảnh 1. — The tourism industry is eagerly anticipating a booming April 30th - May 1st holiday season. (In the photo: Tourists strolling along the Hoai River (Hoi An, Quang Nam ))

More fortunate than Mr. Hai, Ms. Quynh Nga (residing in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) quickly booked train tickets at the beginning of April. At that time, there were still quite a few sleeper berths available on the Saigon - Nha Trang route. Initially, she considered buying plane tickets, but the lowest price was nearly 4 million VND per person for a round-trip ticket, meaning the trip for her and her daughter would cost about 7.5 million VND. So, Ms. Quynh Nga decided to buy sleeper train tickets, which cost just over 3.4 million VND, half the price. "Seeing my daughter and I traveling by train, my cousins also planned to form a group to go together, but when they looked for tickets a few days later, that compartment was already full, so they changed their plans," Ms. Nga said.

According to a survey on the Vietnam Railways Corporation's ticket sales website, most SE trains departing from Saigon Station to tourist destinations such as Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Quy Nhon, Da Nang , etc., reported zero available seats on the peak day of April 28th. A few trains only had plastic seats left, but even those were very limited and scattered, making it difficult to travel in groups or with family.

As one of the most popular train routes, passengers in Ho Chi Minh City wishing to travel to Nha Trang at this time must consider moving their trip forward by 1-2 days. For example, the Saigon - Nha Trang route on April 27th still has many empty seats on the two 5-star trains, SNT6 and SNT8. However, ticket prices are higher than on the SE train: air-conditioned sleeper berths on the first floor cost from over 920,000 to over 1.1 million VND/ticket depending on the compartment; second and third floor berths cost from 800,000 to over 930,000 VND/ticket; and soft seats cost nearly 600,000 VND/ticket.

Speaking to Thanh Nien newspaper, Mr. Thai Van Truyen, General Director of Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company (SRC), said that train ticket sales during this year's holiday season are very good. To date, RRC has sold 55,000 tickets for the holiday period. To meet travel demand, in addition to regularly scheduled daily trains such as SE1/2, SE3/4, SE5/6, SE7/8, SE21/22, SNT1/2, SPT1/2, the company also organized an additional 56 trains from Saigon to other provinces and cities and vice versa from April 27th to May 3rd. Although the supply of tickets increased significantly, on the two peak days of April 28th and 29th, all main seats were sold out, with only a small number of tickets remaining for the Saigon to Phan Thiet route on April 28th and some auxiliary seats.

"More and more passengers, especially young people, are choosing to travel by train, so during peak seasons like holidays, people should book their tickets early," Mr. Truyen informed.

Trains are fully booked, and those planning their holiday trips now also have limited opportunities to buy plane tickets. Mr. Do Dong Hung, Deputy Head of Communications at Vietnam Airlines, stated that this holiday season, Vietnam Airlines and VASCO are providing nearly 551,000 seats, equivalent to nearly 2,800 flights on domestic routes from April 26th to May 5th, a slight increase compared to the same period in 2022. The increased flights focus on popular domestic tourist destinations this year, such as those between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hue, Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Cam Ranh, Da Lat, and Phu Quoc. Furthermore, Vietnam Airlines' international flight network has almost fully recovered. The airline currently operates over 50 international routes to popular tourist destinations in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States.

At this point, many holiday flights are almost fully booked, mainly on April 29th and May 2nd. In addition, flights on the surrounding days are already 60% to 70% full… Airlines are continuing to release more seats to meet the increasing travel demand. Similarly, Vietravel Airlines has also announced that its seat occupancy rate across its entire network has reached 90%.

'Nóng' du lịch lễ 30.4 - 1.5 - Ảnh 2. — Tour programs are becoming increasingly diverse. Pictured: A group of tourists traveling in vintage cars.

Customers booking tours at this time will have to pay a higher price.

"Vietluxtour's April 30th holiday booking plan is over 90% complete, with only a few spots left for Thailand tours and nearby domestic routes," announced Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, Marketing and Communications Director of Vietluxtour Travel Joint Stock Company, even though the holiday is still half a month away.

Pilot program to verify passengers checking in for flights using chip-embedded citizen identification cards.

The Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority has issued a document agreeing with the proposal from Noi Bai International Airport regarding the pilot implementation of chip-embedded citizen identification cards (CCCD) and a solution for authenticating passengers during check-in procedures at Noi Bai Airport. The pilot is expected to run from April 17th to May 17th, applying to one lane in Zone C, Level 2 - Terminal 1; and two pilot check-in counters (counters A31 and A32) in Terminal 1. Bamboo Airways will participate in this pilot program.

According to Ms. Thu, this year's April 30th holiday, due to the long holiday period, has led tourists to plan their trips quite early, especially since outbound tours have reopened on almost all routes, giving tourists many choices. For European and Australian routes, Vietluxtour completed its holiday sales plan early. Northeast Asian routes (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan) reached their targets around mid-to-late March. Outbound tourists have increased significantly on routes to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan… Domestic tours favored by tourists during this holiday include Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Phu Yen, Da Lat, Phan Thiet, and Hanoi. It is expected that the number of tourists and revenue from April 30th tours this year will increase by approximately 25-30% compared to the same period last year.

"Room rates on some popular destinations like Phu Quoc and Con Dao have increased slightly, but overall they remain quite attractive. Prices tend to stimulate demand because domestic tours are losing market share to outbound tours. However, tour prices for the April 30th holiday are still about 5-10% higher than usual. Vietluxtour is able to maintain stable prices during the holiday season for tourists thanks to making deposits well in advance to secure series bookings (reserving many hotel rooms in advance). Some customers who book at the last minute may have to pay 5-10% more for services than the current tour price, depending on the route and time," Ms. Bao Thu said.

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Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Director of Marketing at Vietravel Tourism Company, assessed that this year's holiday season presents a challenge for businesses in adjusting service prices to match customer affordability. In principle, customers purchasing individual services close to the date will have to accept higher prices, but the company has already planned to book series of tickets in advance, so if customers register for tours close to the date, it will not significantly affect the services already arranged.

"The percentage of customers booking tours compared to before the pandemic has reached or equaled 80-85%, and is higher than last year due to increased demand from people, especially now that international tour routes have almost fully reopened," Ms. Van Khanh said.

Overseas tours are on the rise.

According to data from travel companies, after a year of booming domestic tourism, this year people are tending to flock to overseas travel destinations.

According to Vietravel's plan to serve over 21,000 customers during the April 30th holiday this year, 52.5% chose overseas tours, while 47.5% chose domestic tours. Tours to Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, UAE, etc., with new itineraries and more sightseeing and entertainment options, but maintaining the same price as before the pandemic (only increasing from 4.9 million VND), attracted a lot of attention.

Consider increasing flights on peak days.

Airlines release cheap tickets with odd prices.

The Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority has just sent a document to Vietnamese airlines requesting them to consider increasing flights on routes from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City during the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day and the April 30th - May 1st holidays. According to data reported by the airlines, in

During the two peak days of April 28th and 29th, the total number of seats offered on flights from Hanoi to key tourist destinations such as Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hue, Da Lat, Phu Quoc, Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon, and Dong Hoi was approximately 41,000. On April 29th, the seat occupancy rate was particularly high, with the Hanoi - Hue route reaching 100%, Hanoi - Tuy Hoa reaching 93%, and Hanoi - Dong Hoi/Quy Nhon both exceeding 96%.

Similarly, bookings for flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the aforementioned key tourist destinations are also high, with a total of approximately 40,000 seats available. Occupancy rates on routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Quy Nhon/Phu Quoc/Tuy Hoa are all above 80%. Conversely, return flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City also saw high booking rates on May 2nd and 3rd. Several routes from Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon, Hue, and Tuy Hoa to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City also achieved occupancy rates above 80%.

Given the situation, the Civil Aviation Authority has requested airlines to consider increasing flights on routes with high travel demand, especially on April 28th and 29th, and May 2nd and 3rd. Previously, the Civil Aviation Authority held meetings with airlines and industry units and decided to add 26 slots per day at Tan Son Nhat Airport from April 28th to May 3rd and during the peak summer season of 2023 (June 1st to August 15th). With this increase in slots, airlines will be able to increase flights, providing approximately 4,500-5,000 additional tickets per day.

* A representative from Vietnam Airlines stated that with the five-day holiday from April 29th to May 3rd, travel demand and airfare prices are expected to increase significantly. Therefore, Vietnam Airlines is still offering discounted fares (including taxes and fees) on flights to and from tourist destinations during off-peak periods. Specifically, from April 27th to 30th, flights from Da Nang, Da Lat, Hue, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, and Quy Nhon to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are priced from only 965,000 VND/ticket. From May 1st to 4th, flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Da Lat, Hue, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, and Quy Nhon are priced from only 1.1 million VND/one-way.

In addition, the reopening of the Chinese market also presents an opportunity for travel companies like Vietravel to introduce new Zhangjiajie - Fenghuang Ancient Town tour packages to neighboring provinces, with durations of 6 days and 5 nights or 5 days and 4 nights, suitable for this year's holiday season.

"The global international market is experiencing fierce competition among destinations, especially as the 'huge' influx of tourists from China is beginning to recover. Outbound tours offering new experiences at affordable prices are very popular with Vietnamese 'travel enthusiasts'," Ms. Van Khanh commented.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications, Marketing, and Information Technology at TST Tourist, also announced that they have nearly reached their target of serving 2,000 tourists during this holiday season. According to TST Tourist, the most popular and early booked tours include those to Thailand, Taiwan, Dubai, South Korea, Japan, and Europe. Since tourism reopened, TST Tourist has seen a 6/4 ratio of outbound tours to overseas destinations, favoring attractive prices. A budget of 5-6 million VND allows for trips to Thailand and Cambodia; a slightly larger budget can lead to trips to Singapore and Malaysia.

"It is predicted that this rate will increase even further from June onwards, as the Chinese market further eases quarantine requirements for tourists. In this context, rising airfares and increased costs of domestic tourism services will impact customers' decisions, encouraging hesitant groups to confidently switch to overseas travel. Hopefully, from now until the peak summer season, tourism promotion and stimulus activities will be organized more strongly and effectively so that domestic services such as destinations, hotels, and restaurants have the opportunity to strongly recover," Mr. Manh expected.

The number of international visitors to Vietnam has increased significantly.

According to the General Statistics Office, the number of international visitors to Vietnam in March was estimated at 895,425, a decrease of 4% compared to the previous month and 21.5 times higher than the same period last year. Overall, the number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first quarter of 2023 was estimated at nearly 2.7 million, 29.7 times higher than the same period in 2022, but still only 60% of the number in the same period of 2019 – before the Covid-19 pandemic.