Late holiday travel?

New summer fever, difficult holiday fever?

"Are you going anywhere this holiday?" - "At first I was planning to go somewhere but my husband just got a pay cut so I think not, the whole family just went to Hue last month" - "Same with my family, at first I was planning to go to China but then I thought about it and decided to save up and go during Tet."

The conversation between two office workers at a coffee shop in District 3 (HCMC) is also a common concern of many families when talking about their plans for the upcoming September 2nd holiday. This year's holiday lasts 4 days, suitable for a vacation trip to domestic tourist destinations or some nearby countries in Southeast Asia, but the demand for family travel is not very vibrant. This reality is also reflected in the business situation at travel agencies.

On the occasion of September 2nd holiday, the number of passengers traveling through the new Eastern Bus Station is expected to increase by 70% compared to normal days.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications - Marketing of TST Tourist Company, said that up to now, the company has not recorded a strong or breakthrough growth in the number of customers registering for tours. Like other travel businesses, TST Tourist is ready with many programs with attractive routes but does not expect too much from the number of customers during the 2.9 holiday season because families have just had a long enough summer vacation. At present, it is the end of the summer cycle, students have started going to school, most people are focusing on preparing for their children's school admission, so the number of family customers booking tours has suddenly stopped. In addition, customer demand depends on many factors such as service prices, tour prices, financial management ability, etc.

After the first 6 months of the year, the economic picture has not changed much, businesses are facing difficulties, leading to reduced income and even job loss for workers. Therefore, many families will tighten their belts, instead of spending freely as before.

"At this time, the South is in the rainy season, so the most popular tourist destinations are suitable destinations to avoid storms and landslides. Customers registering for tours are focusing on coastal areas such as Ha Long, Quang Ninh, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Phu Quoc... However, there is no outstanding destination. Both domestically and internationally, there are no highlights for the upcoming 2.9 holiday season," Mr. Nguyen Minh Man informed.

Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, Marketing - Communications Director of Vietluxtour Travel, assessed that the September 2 holiday is a "vacation" for many families before sending their children to the new school year, so the number of visitors is not too crowded. Transportation services, restaurants, hotels... are quite stable in terms of prices and number of tickets, and there is a possibility that domestic and international tours will not be too "hot" like every year. Not to mention, international tours are still sharing the domestic tourist market share. The number of departures and destinations is very diverse, especially in Northeast Asian routes such as China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong... or popular Southeast Asian routes such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Bali (Indonesia)... with advantages in prices and constantly changing destinations. Particularly, routes to Europe, America... are likely to continue to increase by about 10 - 15% compared to summer because they have entered the most beautiful season of the year - autumn and the year-end festival season.

"We still predict that the company's total number of 2.9 visitors this year will increase by 20 - 25%. The company has prepared a business plan for this holiday since the second quarter, and has now reached about 65% of the expected plan. However, Vietluxtour has also made quite long-term predictions and preparations for the fall-winter and Lunar New Year business plans because after the social distancing periods due to the Covid-19 pandemic, customer demand has changed a lot. The nature of the peak and low seasons is no longer so clear and tourists have regular travel plans, taking advantage of more idle service times such as the beginning of the week, the periods after or before major holidays...", Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu informed.

On the occasion of September 2nd holiday, the number of road passengers is expected to increase compared to normal days.

Air tickets are plentiful and cheap.

The sluggish tourism demand has led to a lackluster transportation market, especially aviation.

According to a survey on airline websites, there are still many flights to tourist "hubs" during the September 2nd holiday, and ticket prices have not fluctuated much. For example, the Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang route departing on August 31 and returning on September 3 (the two peak days) of Vietravel Airlines is only about 1.5 million VND/way, equivalent to the ticket price of Vietjet. On the same day and route, Bamboo Airways flights range from 1.4 - 1.9 million VND/ticket. Vietnam Airlines tickets have the highest price, but no flight exceeds 2.1 million VND/way.

Some morning flights are only 1.5 million VND/way. There are still many tickets available for all airlines, spread throughout the day. Families who can arrange their time, depart early and return 1 day earlier than the peak season can choose many time slots with ticket prices from only 800,000 - 1.3 million VND/way. The route from Hanoi to Phu Quoc, although there are fewer flights, is surprisingly cheap. Even if you choose to fly on the peak day (August 31), the most expensive Vietjet ticket is only 1.3 million VND/way, the flight with the lowest ticket price is only over 970,000 VND/way.

Bamboo Airways flights also do not have tickets over 1.8 million VND. The morning flight has a ticket price of less than 1.5 million VND/way. Vietnam Airlines does not have any flights priced over 1.9 million VND/way. Just depart 1 day earlier, all airlines have a series of cheap tickets for only a few tens of thousands of VND, plus taxes and fees, all less than 800,000 VND/way ticket from Hanoi to Phu Quoc.

Tickets for the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route are still quite expensive. If flying on August 31, Vietravel Airlines tickets cost up to nearly 3 million VND/way, the most expensive for the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route; higher than the nearly 1.8 million VND of most flights of Pacific Airlines and Vietjet, or the price of 2.1 million VND/way of Bamboo Airways. Vietnam Airlines flights on the same day also do not have prices exceeding 2.6 million VND/way. On September 1, Vietjet Air is offering a ticket price of 1.62 million VND/way, equivalent to the price of this flight on August 29...

A representative of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam informed: During the September 2 holiday period this year, transportation demand did not increase compared to the same period in 2022. According to statistics, the total number of flights that airlines plan to operate during the peak period (from August 31 to September 5) is more than 5,300 flights with a total of 1.06 million seats, an increase of about 20% compared to the normal period and a slight decrease of 3% compared to the same period in 2022.

Up to now, surveying ticket prices on ticket sales websites of Vietnamese airlines during the holiday period, the Civil Aviation Authority also recorded that airfares are stable, including on main routes and tourist routes, with no significant difference compared to the peak summer period. Airfares tend to increase on the first day of the holiday for departure and the last day of return during the holiday. However, airlines are selling domestic airfares according to the prescribed price range.

"According to the summary report of airlines, as of August 18, the occupancy rate during the September 2 holiday period on main routes as well as tourist routes is still low, the remaining supply of seats is still abundant. Specifically, on the main routes of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, the occupancy rate of new flights is from 30 - 40%. For tourist routes, except for the routes from Hanoi to Phu Quoc, Binh Dinh and Con Dao or the route from Ho Chi Minh City to Binh Dinh, the booking rate is over 40%, while other routes are all low, ranging from 25 to below 40%. However, the Authority continues to coordinate with airlines, monitor, evaluate and monitor market demand to plan to increase flights, promptly meet the travel needs of passengers during this holiday", said the leader of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Air conditioning for ships and vehicles?

In contrast to aviation, road transport promises a bustling 2.9 holiday season. According to a representative of the new Eastern Bus Station, the number of passengers traveling through the new Eastern Bus Station is expected to increase by 70% compared to normal days. Passengers will mainly travel from Ho Chi Minh City to provinces from Da Nang and vice versa. The highest number of passengers will be on August 31, with an expected number of 7,700 people.

Mr. Tran Van Phuong, Deputy Director of Mien Tay Bus Station, also expected the number of passengers traveling during this time to increase by 119% compared to normal days. Of which, on August 31, this bus station will serve about 48,000 passengers, on September 1 it will increase to about 54,000 and gradually decrease from September 2 to September 4. Compared to the same holiday period, the number of passengers traveling through Mien Tay Bus Station is forecast to increase by 20%. Regarding ticket prices, the units will still maintain the principle of surcharges on September 1 and 2 but not more than 40% compared to normal days.

In the northern region, the number of passengers passing through Hanoi bus stations is forecast to increase by 200% during the September 2 holiday. Hanoi Bus Station Joint Stock Company expects passenger traffic to start increasing from the evening of August 31 to the end of September 5. Some routes will have a sharp increase in passenger traffic such as Phu Tho, Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa, Thai Binh, Lao Cai, Son La...

Similarly, the railway industry has started to become bustling as many people are taking advantage of booking train tickets early. It is forecasted that the number of passengers traveling by train before and after the holiday will increase compared to normal days. According to a survey, many trains to some tourist destinations in the Central provinces and cities such as Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Phu Yen, etc. have a fairly high rate of passengers booking tickets. Some routes departing on the first peak day (August 31) were almost sold out of sleeper tickets, with only a few seats left. Realizing the high demand, Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company has planned to organize additional trains from Ho Chi Minh City - Quy Nhon and will continue to open ticket sales for additional trains from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Da Nang, Hanoi, etc.

"In addition to the need to visit relatives in their hometown, more and more families choose trains to travel. The rate of selling full-cabin tickets for groups of tourists has grown well. If they don't have a long break, they consider the time on the train an experience in the journey. It may also be partly due to the psychology that airfares during peak season often increase, in the context of economic difficulties, people will switch to other methods with more reasonable costs. The railway industry is trying to further improve quality and service, and at the same time run many promotional programs to capture this trend and stimulate tourism," said a representative of Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company.

Service revenue increases sharply during the peak summer tourist season of 2023

According to the General Statistics Office, June and July are the peak months of the summer tourist season, so revenue from accommodation, food and beverage services and travel services increased compared to previous months. In July alone, revenue from accommodation, food and beverage services and travel services nationwide is estimated at VND 60,000 billion, up 4.9% over the previous month and up 5.7% over the same period in 2022. In the first 7 months, revenue from accommodation, food and beverage services and travel services reached VND 395,800 billion, up 17.7% over the same period last year; of which accommodation and food services increased by 16.3% and travel and travel services increased by 53.6%.

Beware of unusually cheap travel services

The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has just issued some recommendations for tourists on the occasion of the September 2 holiday. Accordingly, tourists need to carefully research information about travel packages, especially travel programs and hotel rooms with cheaper prices than usual. Tourists should choose tourism service providers that ensure conditions according to legal regulations. After finding a reputable unit, tourists should proactively reconfirm the information in the tourism contract (confirmation of room reservation, quality, service price, time, tour program, tour guide, facilities for tourist accommodation...). Tourists can proactively find information about organizations and individuals doing tourism business on the website of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism warned of the phenomenon of some establishments discriminating, competing for tourists, and forcing customers to buy goods and services. Tourists also need to be wary of advertising the wrong type or class of tourist accommodation that has been recognized by a competent state agency, or advertising the type or class of tourist accommodation that has not been recognized by a competent state agency.

Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Headquarters opens to welcome visitors on September 2nd holiday

According to information from the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the headquarters of the People's Council and the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City will continue to welcome visitors on the occasion of September 2 (expected on September 1-2). The plan to organize for visitors to visit the headquarters of the People's Council and the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City at 86 Le Thanh Ton (District 1), a work belonging to the group of national architectural and artistic relics, has been agreed upon by the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the Department of Tourism. The units are also developing a plan to periodically open the doors for people and tourists to visit on the last Saturday and Sunday of each month.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/du-lich-le-nong-muon-185230820002416363.htm