Domestic tourism booms during Tet

Published: 15:07 Tuesday - February 19, 2013

The number of domestic tourists travelling during the Tet holiday last week increased by an estimated 10-20 per cent over the same period last year, travel agencies report.

The number of domestic tourists travelling during the Tet holiday last week
increased by an estimated 10-20 per cent over the same period last year
.—VNA/VNS photo

HCM City's leading tour companies, including Saigontourist, Vietravel, Fiditourist and Cho Lon, said they saw a far greater number of domestic tourists this season, as living standards have risen substantially. Saigontourist served about 15,000 tourists while its leading competitor, Vietravel, attracted 7,000 tourists to its local tours.

With costs ranging from VND2 million (US$130) to VND4 million ($260), tours to Phu Quoc Island and the Central Highlands destinations of Buon Ma Thuot and Kon Tum were popular this Tet, particularly with many overseas Vietnamese returning to Viet Nam to celebrate Tet.

Many young people also book tours to sites in the north like Sa Pa and Ha Long Bay, even though they are more expensive this, costing at least VND 6 million ($300).

Huynh Duc Trung, deputy head of the Da Nang provincial tourism office, said travel agencies offered more special tours this year at discounted prices, helping spur demand for travel packages during the holiday.

Over 50,000 visitors flocked to the Central Highlands resort city of Da Lat last week, visiting sites such as Xuan Huong Lake, Da Lat Market and Tinh Yeu Valley. Hotel rates were reported to have spiked by 50 to 300 per cent in some cases.

Beaches in Binh Thuan Province greeted about 150,000 tourists, including 30,000 foreign visitors, mostly Russian, Japanese, South Korean and Chinese.

Da Nang attracted 47,300 foreign visitors this season, an increase of 20 per cent compared to last year. And according to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thua Thien – Hue Province, around 5,000 foreign visitors visited Hue daily this past week.

As in prior years, many HCM City residents escaped to the seaside in nearby Vung Tau, which reported about 400,000 visitors during the week. On Saturday alone, the city saw nearly 90,000 arrivals, with local lodgings and restaurants overloaded. The rates at some hotels spiked from VND400,000 ($ 20) to VND1.5 million ($75).

For holidaymakers who stayed closer to home, entertainment centres like the Suoi Tien Tourist Site, Dam Sen Park and Ky Hoa Park in HCM City also presented live music and comedy shows and dragon dance performances. District 9's Suoi Tien attracted 61,000 visitors last week, mostly those from neighbouring provinces, an increase of 21 per cent over last year.