This Tet holiday, many tours are fully booked.

According to Agoda, the number of visitors from China increased by nearly 300%. Phu Quoc became the top destination choice for international tourists, with accommodation searches increasing by 266% compared to 2024.

Busy with tourists coming and going.

Data from this platform also shows significant growth in accommodation searches from travelers in other locations such as South Korea and Taiwan (China), at 94% and 123% respectively. These results are based on booking search data collected from November 27th to December 21st, 2024, with check-in dates between January 25th and February 2nd, 2025.

According to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority, Tan Son Nhat Airport will experience record-high traffic during the Lunar New Year holiday this year. Photo: Khanh Linh.

Notably, on the other hand, in the outbound tourism market, international destinations such as Bangkok (Thailand), Tokyo (Japan), and Singapore are among the top choices for Vietnamese tourists. In particular, Tokyo recorded a 193% increase in search volume, surpassing Bali (Indonesia) to become the most popular destination for Vietnamese tourists during this year's Tet holiday.

On the "incoming" side, in the early days of 2025, Saigontourist Travel Service Company welcomed 5 international cruise ships to Vietnam. In total, from January 4th to 31st, 2025, Saigontourist Travel Service will welcome and serve 19,800 international cruise ship passengers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries, who will experience a cruise across Vietnam.

Similarly, purchasing power at many travel companies is showing positive signs thanks to the vibrant number of international tourists. According to Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu – Director of Marketing and Communications at Vietluxtour Travel, the company has researched and enhanced product innovation and marketing methods to effectively exploit potential tourist markets (Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, India, Arabia, etc.), alongside key markets such as Europe, the US, Australia, and Northeast Asia. Notably, the number of overseas Vietnamese booking tours at Vietluxtour at the end of the year increased by about 30% compared to the same period last year, with the highest concentration before Tet (Lunar New Year). Popular destinations include Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi , Da Nang, and Hue…

Meanwhile, BenThanh Tourist Travel Agency stated that the long holiday period is one of the factors influencing tourists' tour choices during the Lunar New Year. Mr. Pham Anh Vu, representative of Vietnam Tourism Media Joint Stock Company, said that in recent years, Vietnamese people have increasingly demanded high-end tourism products. Resort tours at 5-star resorts with diverse services, isolated from urban areas, allowing tourists to relax and enjoy peaceful surroundings in Con Dao, Nha Trang, etc., attract a large number of visitors.

For Vietravel, spring trips to Asian countries are also quite popular with tourists, including tours to Japan, India, Bhutan, etc. According to Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra – Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Travel Service Company, the company is almost fully booked for overseas tours during Tet, with 99 itineraries departing from the 25th of the 12th lunar month until the 10th day of Tet. A new feature this year is that Vietnamese customers are registering for cruise tours with itineraries such as Singapore – Penang (Malaysia) – Phuket (Thailand) for 6 days and Singapore – Penang (Malaysia) for 4 days. These tours are currently fully booked.

Overall, the 9-day Lunar New Year holiday in 2025 had a positive impact on tourist demand. Tour bookings at some companies increased by approximately 15%–20% compared to the previous year.

Even with increased trips and more seats, tickets are still selling out.

As of January 15th, Vietnamese airlines had added approximately 133,000 seats on domestic routes compared to the previous week. However, despite the significant increase in flights, many routes from Ho Chi Minh City to other localities are quickly filling up during the days leading up to Tet and in the opposite direction during the post-Tet period.

Garden tourism in the Mekong Delta. Photo: TQT.

For major routes such as Ho Chi Minh City – Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi, Hanoi – Da Nang, and Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City, the occupancy rate increased rapidly during the period from January 25th to February 2nd (i.e., the 26th of the 12th lunar month to the 5th of the 1st lunar month). In particular, the Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi/Da Nang route saw occupancy rates exceeding 95% in some days leading up to Tet, despite prices being approximately 1.7 – 2.6 million VND/ticket/one-way higher than the previous Tet holiday. “Generally, tourists are still very cautious about airfare costs. Therefore, they tend to look for combined package deals and promotional offers from travel companies,” shared Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of BestPrice.

If departing from Hanoi, the most "ideal" travel destinations for this Tet holiday include: Ho Chi Minh City, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, and Quy Nhon. According to travel companies, in addition to familiar destinations, many families this Tet are choosing to travel to the Central Highlands provinces, including Da Lat (Lam Dong province); Mang Den (Kon Tum province); Bac Ha, Sa Pa (Lao Cai province); and Dong Van Stone Plateau (Ha Giang province). Information from accommodation establishments indicates that most tourists departing from Hanoi start their trips on the 2nd day of Tet and check out, ending their trip by noon on the 5th day of Tet. Besides traveling by plane to distant tourist destinations, many people choose to travel with family and friends within a 400km radius, with many journeys undertaken by private car.

According to statistics from the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority, Vietnamese airlines added 522 flights during the Lunar New Year holiday. Of these, Vietnam Airlines, which leased (including crew), acquired 3 new Airbus A320 aircraft, adding 75,000 seats, equivalent to 400 flights during the Tet season. Vietjet received 4 additional aircraft and Bamboo Airways 2.

Reportedly, the total number of seats offered on domestic routes is approximately 4.8 million (an average of 160,000 seats per day), an increase of about 3.5% compared to the same period in 2024.

Nevertheless, many flights from Ho Chi Minh City to other localities were fully booked during the days leading up to Tet and in the opposite direction during the post-Tet period. Numerous routes continued to have 100% booking rates. These included routes such as Hanoi – Buon Ma Thuot, Ho Chi Minh City – Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Pleiku, Chu Lai… Similarly, routes like Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City – Da Nang were completely sold out.

According to an airline ticket agent, airfares for this year's Tet holiday remain high, sometimes double the price compared to the same period last year. For example, business class tickets on Vietnam Airlines for the Ho Chi Minh City – Da Nang route cost from 9.4 to 15.9 million VND; while Vietjet and Vietravel Airlines tickets cost from 5.8 to 6 million VND, double the price when purchased before January 15th.

Mr. Le Cong Nang – General Director of WonderTour – also believes that the long Tet holiday means a significant increase in tourist numbers, thereby boosting revenue, expanding the market, diversifying products, and improving service quality. It is predicted that tourism revenue could grow by 15% – 20% compared to the same period last year.

According to Mr. Phung Quang Thang, Vice President of the Vietnam Travel Association, a noticeable trend in domestic tourism recently is that tourists travel independently or only book a portion of services through travel agencies. This shows that the application of digital technology in Vietnamese service providers is becoming increasingly widespread. This trend is predicted to continue during the upcoming Tet holiday.