The Bright Signal of Vietnamese Tourism
During the 7-day Lunar New Year holiday, the National Tourism Administration announced that there were 10.5 million domestic tourists, an increase of nearly 17% compared to the same period in 2023. Notably, about 3.5 million of these were overnight tourists, equivalent to a 75% increase. The average room capacity was estimated at 45-50%.
Mr. Bui Thanh Tu – representative of Best Price travel company – said that with the long holiday, the total number of domestic and inbound tourists to Vietnam doubled compared to last year during the period from the 28th of December to the 5th of January. People flocked to travel, resulting in a 200% increase in revenue.
The number of domestic tourists increased sharply during Tet.
Vietfoot Travel company also recorded a surge in domestic tourists during Tet. By anticipating the needs of people, the company offered long-day tours from Ho Chi Minh City to northern provinces for sightseeing. This helped the business generate sales and “hunt” for attractive airfare prices by moving against the crowd.
According to travel companies, the improved road system allowed domestic tourism to “take off” during Tet. Currently, the expressway system enables the Hanoi – Sapa route to be covered in just about 6 hours by car. Tourists only need to drive less than 3 hours to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet, Vung Tau.
Favorable weather has become a factor in the sudden growth of domestic tourism. According to Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, the number of bookings soared during the holiday. “After celebrating New Year’s Eve and seeing the dry and warm weather, many tourists immediately decided to drive themselves to travel. Even though the 4-5 star hotels were fully booked, tourists still accepted homestays and hotels farther from the destinations,” shared a representative from Best Price.
Tourists plan to travel in the spring due to the sunny and rainless weather.
In addition, Vietnamese people traveling abroad tend to seek out premium and high-quality products in countries like Japan, South Korea, and Europe. This Lunar New Year, these countries and regions are still in the winter season. Therefore, a large number of domestic tourists are interested in skiing and activities that have never been available in Vietnam.
Leverage for the Tourism Industry
The surge in domestic and international tourists and revenue during the Lunar New Year has made the domestic tourism industry confident in setting targets for this year.
Domestic destinations have performed well in product innovation. For example, many images of Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh province have been shared recently, attracting more attention from young people. The opening of a new night market in Phu Quoc (Kien Giang) has made the nightlife more bustling.
A beautiful sunrise moment on the top of Ba Den Mountain. Photo: Bui Van Hai.
The event of nearly 300 Taiwanese – Chinese tourists being “abandoned” in Phu Quoc and being brought home safely again reflects that tourism workers in Vietnam always have a friendly spirit and provide the best possible support. However, to ensure stable operations, travel businesses should exercise caution when coordinating with international partners in the process of managing inbound tourists, always having complete legal documents for each specific situation to facilitate dispute resolution.
However, experts believe that there are still some areas that need improvement in order to raise the quality of domestic tourism.
Mr. Pham Duy Nghia – Secretary General of Hanoi Travel Association – said: “During this year’s Lunar New Year holiday, airfare prices were still very high, despite knowing that the demand for traveling to hometowns during Tet was high, causing airlines to exert themselves.
Immediately after Tet, the Government requested the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to propose a policy of expanding visa exemptions for citizens of certain countries that are suitable for the new situation and bilateral cooperation. Mr. Pham Duy Nghia shared that he hopes the State and the Government will further relax the list of countries exempt from visas, especially those that are already developing or have developed.
This will create a stimulus for consumption and foreign relations. Agreeing with this opinion, representatives from many businesses said that expanding visa exemptions will attract more international tourists to Vietnam, but at the same time, it is necessary to boost promotion activities to the international community. If visa exemption is the only incentive, it is still not really attractive.
The model of “non-sleeping” tourism needs to be expanded.
Focus on night tourism has become a factor that travel companies are paying attention to. Until now, most famous landmarks in Vietnam have not developed this field. Although there have been many new programs such as evening performances at the Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam, Hoa Lo Prison… etc., these activities usually end around 10pm. To fully stimulate tourists’ spending, “non-sleeping” areas like Ta Hien Street – Hanoi, Bui Vien Street – Ho Chi Minh City need to be replicated in other localities.
