Ms. D.H.'s family (HCMC) once drove to the North to celebrate Tet. In the photo: a visit to Hung Temple, Phu Tho on the occasion of Tet 2024 - Photo: TTD
Families have had different ways to celebrate Tet, making effective use of the 9-day holiday in the context of tight budgets due to the general economic difficulties.
According to travel companies, many tourists prefer F&E tours (tourists only need to book basic services in advance to prepare for the trip instead of buying a package tour), and option tours are designed to serve specific groups of guests according to their needs.
The whole family on the car going home for Tet
Ms. Thanh Huyen – (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) – said that this year the whole family decided to travel by car to her husband’s hometown in Quang Ngai to celebrate Tet. To prepare for this trip, Ms. Huyen took leave from the 23rd day of the lunar calendar, cleaned the house and prepared gifts for relatives as well as gifts to bring home for Tet.
After a month of searching for cheap airfares, the family had to choose to return home by private car. “It was expected to take two days to travel and rest, so I searched for a hotel, chose a stopover, and prepared basic meals for my children, as if the whole family was both traveling and returning home,” said Thanh Huyen.
According to Ms. Huyen’s calculations, if traveling by plane, a family of four will spend nearly 30 million VND. Meanwhile, traveling by private car only costs 1/3 of the cost. In addition, she can freely visit relatives along the way as well as visit tourist attractions. Last year, the family went to famous places along the Central region, which were memorable “check-in” spots for the children.
According to records, the booming trend during this year’s Tet holiday is car tours with journeys to Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Da Lat, Vung Tau, Quy Nhon… departing from Ho Chi Minh City. At the beginning of Hanoi departure, popular destinations are Sa Pa, Ha Long, Ha Giang, Ninh Binh…
However, traveling by private vehicle during the peak Tet holiday also has its difficulties.
“Traffic checkpoints in crowded areas are alarming. If you don’t plan ahead, you can easily get stuck in traffic,” Ms. Huyen shared.
Many families also believe that by traveling by private car, the whole family can bring more luggage and gifts. In addition, not depending on the airline schedule helps relieve some of the pressure in travel planning.
This year, in addition to the trend of choosing sightseeing products and experiencing Tet in the three regions of the North - Central - South or many countries around the world, tourists also tend to choose relaxation products with high-class services. These services are chosen by many families to fully experience Tet, so tours departing from December 25 to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of Tet are chosen by many tourists.
Mr. Tran The Dung – General Director of Vietluxtour – said that the trend of combining travel on the way back to hometown for Tet has been quite popular in the past 2-3 years. From this reality, domestic tourism services have been invested in by many travel companies, selling a wide variety of flexible partial services and selling throughout Tet to serve tourists who have sudden plans to travel during Tet.
Traveling during Tet is increasingly popular
Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang – Deputy General Director of Vietravel – said that with the long vacation, when designing tourism products, the company also divided many product sets from long to short vacation. Even the 9-day vacation is quite special because there are many tour groups that last more than 10 days.
“We build domestic tourism products lasting from 1 to 7 days, in which the 3 to 5 day product group is selling the best. Then there are tours lasting from 5 to 7 days and 1 to 3 days. For international tours, the tour duration is 3 to 5 days, tours with longer durations are often in the luxury tour category such as the Australian, European, American markets… These are the tours that have closed early,” said Ms. Hoang.
Mr. Minh Quang, who has worked in Ho Chi Minh City for many years, said that his family often uses air travel to return to his hometown Nghe An during Tet. However, this year, ticket prices have nearly doubled compared to previous years, forcing his family to switch to a “reluctant” plan to go abroad.
“With the cost of a trip for 4 people to Thailand being approximately the same as the price of returning home, we have made appointments with many people in the same situation to book Tet tours abroad. Friends with children playing together and grandparents on both sides also understand and sympathize with the new way of celebrating Tet. For many families, Tet is still an occasion for reunion and joy, but the cost is still something that needs to be considered,” Quang shared.
According to travel and tourism companies, international destinations such as Bangkok, Tokyo and Singapore are on the list of most favorite destinations for Vietnamese tourists with 3-5 day trips. Notably, data from Agoda platform also shows that Tokyo recorded a 193% increase in searches, surpassing Bali to become the favorite destination during Tet this year.
Mr. Varun Grover - Director of Booking.com in Vietnam - said that the services of booking rooms, airline tickets as well as entertainment on the platform have all grown rapidly in the past year, reflecting the trend of independent and individual travel of Vietnamese people.
“In a year when the economy is still considered difficult, spending on tourism still grows, showing that the habit of independent and flexible travel is becoming popular with Vietnamese people. For example, during this Lunar New Year, Da Lat continues to be the most searched destination when up to 81% of Vietnamese tourists prioritize choosing destinations with cool climates,” said Mr. Varun.
International visitors boom during Lunar New Year
Foreign tourists in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City – Photo: Q. DINH
In particular, the Lunar New Year is also the peak season for international visitors. Many tourists want to come to Vietnam during this time to see and celebrate the traditional Tet atmosphere with local people across the country.
Agoda representative said that booking data as well as services through the platform recorded a remarkable growth in international tourists to Vietnam during the Lunar New Year 2025 tourist season. It is estimated that the number of international visitors to Vietnam increased by nearly 300% during Tet, in which Phu Quoc (Kien Giang) became the top destination for international tourists.
“The number of accommodation searches from international visitors increased by 139% compared to the same period last year. In particular, the number of visitors from China increased by nearly 300%. The data also recorded a significant growth in accommodation searches from travelers from other countries such as South Korea and Taiwan (94% and 123%),” said an Agoda representative.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, visitors to Ho Chi Minh City will have the opportunity to experience city tour products, combined with exploring night tourism in the city such as the Saigon of the past - Ho Chi Minh City of today route, Saigon Special Forces tour... Quick reports from travel agencies in the area show that the number of overseas Vietnamese booking tours at the end of the year continues to increase by about 30 - 50% compared to the same period last year.
Choose independent travel to be freeSource: https://tuoitre.vn/du-lich-tu-tuc-len-ngoi-mua-tet-20250120224149756.htm
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