“Dalat is very crowded and full of people, all hotels are fully booked”, the message from a friend sent to the reporter in the first days of the Lunar New Year holiday in 2024. Despite contacting many places, this friend received notifications that all rooms were full. Last year, when visiting Dalat, he was able to book a room easily. The tourist attractions and restaurants were also quite empty at that time. But when he returned during the Lunar New Year, he had to stay at his friend’s house because he couldn’t find a room.
According to reports from the People’s Committee of Dalat City and the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Lam Dong Province, during the National Day holiday in September last year, Dalat City received about 90,000 visitors, including 76,500 overnight visitors, and 6,300 international visitors. This number of visitors only filled about 50% of the city’s hotel capacity, lower than expected.
Tourists visit Dalat night market on the 24th day of the first lunar month. The number of visitors to this city during the 2024 Lunar New Year has increased again after a decline in the middle and end of last year. Photo: Dy Khoa.
According to Ms. Hang, the owner of a homestay in Ward 4 (Dalat City, Lam Dong Province), the number of visitors at the beginning of 2023 was quite stable, but it was lower in the middle and end of the year than expected. “I don’t know where all the guests went”, she shared.
Many people chose Ms. Hang’s homestay because it is only 1.5 km away from Dalat Market and can be reached on foot. Due to the good business in 2022 and the stable signal at the beginning of 2023, Ms. Hang and her husband decided to invest in renovating the rooms. They spent a significant amount of money to decorate the walls with wood panels, creating a cozy space. However, the number of guests throughout 2023 was not as expected, so Ms. Hang humorously said that she was “drowning in debt”.
Hope for an increase in visitors to Dalat this year
As an experienced business owner, Ms. Hang speculated that the decrease in visitors to Dalat may be due to Lam Dong province closing Prenn pass last year to expand the main road connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat City. Tourists had to choose another route to reach the dreamy city.
In addition, the main reason – according to Ms. Hang – is the difficult economic situation, leading to lower income, and therefore reducing the demand for travel.
“During this Lunar New Year, I don’t know why, but my phone and Zalo are constantly ringing due to the sudden surge in the number of guests,” Ms. Hang said. “My son and I have to work hard to respond to all the booking requests.”
The rooms in her homestay were fully booked for the entire Lunar New Year holiday. “Many guests begged for a room, but I couldn’t accommodate them due to limited room availability and previous bookings,” she added.
Also hoping for more visitors, Ms. Luyen, the owner of a bánh căn (Vietnamese pancake) stall on Yersin street in Dalat, said that she was “very empty last year!“.
Ms. Luyen and her husband behind the bánh căn stove on Yersin Street. Due to a decrease in the number of visitors, the amount of flour used by the stall per day has also halved. Photo: Dy Khoa.
“Last year was very empty, but now it’s getting busier”
Ms. Luyen’s stall is located near Dalat Pedagogical College, so in addition to local customers, tourists are an important source of income. “The lack of guests caused the daily flour consumption of my stall to decrease by 50% compared to before,” the owner of the bánh căn stall shared.
Under normal circumstances, with a steady number of customers, this bánh căn stall can sell up to 8kg of flour per day. Even during the 2018-2019 interview, the stall sold up to 10kg per day. However, during the slow days last year, only 4kg were sold.
Ms. Luyen said, “The combination of fewer customers and increased rent has caused me a lot of stress. But since I can’t rest, the business still continues.”
Therefore, when the number of guests increased significantly during the Lunar New Year holiday, she felt hopeful for a better year of business for her bánh căn stall.
The owner of a tea stall at Cau Dat Market (Dalat City) hopes that tourists will come back more. Photo: Dy Khoa.
Located on the outskirts of Dalat, on the road connecting Dalat City and D’ran town (Don Duong district, Lam Dong province), Cau Dat Market is also a place that attracts many visitors. However, due to the general situation, the number of customers who went shopping and eating at the market also decreased last year. The owner of the tea stall next to the market said: “Last year was very empty. But now it seems to be getting busier.”
On January 31, the online travel service provider Booking.com announced that based on search and booking data from February 8 to 14 (from the 29th day of the last lunar month to the 5th day of the Lunar New Year), among domestic tourist destinations, Dalat is the most searched destination for domestic tourists during the recent Lunar New Year holiday.
According to local statistics, during the recent Lunar New Year holiday, Dalat attracted 238,000 visitors for sightseeing and relaxation, an increase of nearly 62% compared to the same period in 2023. Among them, there were 18,000 international visitors, an increase of 114%, and nearly 180,000 overnight visitors.
