Van Thinh, living in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi, on the morning of March 12, searched for a plane ticket to Quy Nhon on the occasion of April 30 with his family. He planned to leave on April 27 (Saturday) and return on May 1. However, the cheapest ticket, at the worst time, was about 5 million VND round trip. Thinh was surprised because people often shared that booking a month in advance would be less expensive.
"Around 3.5-4 million VND might be reasonable, but 5 million VND for a plane ticket with a bad departure time makes me hesitate," he said.
According to a reporter's survey, tourists tend to travel on the upcoming April 30 holiday from the weekend of April 27 to fully enjoy the holiday.
The Hanoi - Quy Nhon route is one of the routes with the highest increase among the main tourist routes. The round-trip airfare surveyed during the period of April 27-30 was VND5 million, VND600,000 higher than a month before the peak and VND2 million higher than a week after the peak. Last year, Best Price's ticket office data showed that customers booking round-trip airfares close to the Hanoi - Quy Nhon route for the April 28-May 1 route were VND2.3 million per person.
For the Hanoi-Da Nang route from April 27-30, the best price found on the morning of March 12 was VND4.8 million round trip, 1.6 times higher than a week later and 1.4 times higher than a month ago. On April 22 last year, a ticket for this route from April 28-May 1 cost VND3.8 million.
Meanwhile, the Hanoi - Phu Quoc route from April 27-30 costs about VND5 million, about VND2 million higher than a month ago and a week after the holiday. If flying at a good time, the round-trip airfare for this route is about VND7.2-8.6 million. The Hanoi - Nha Trang route costs VND4.7 million, VND1.5 million higher than the same period last month and VND1 million higher than a week after the peak; the good time is about VND7.6 million.
For routes departing from Ho Chi Minh City during the period of April 30 to May 3, the lowest fare to Phu Quoc is 3.8 million VND and Nha Trang is 4.6 million VND, both about 1 million VND higher than the same period last month and a week later. Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route connecting northern tourist destinations costs about 4.3 million VND round trip - about 1 million VND higher than the average price for this route on weekdays.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat, General Director of AZA Travel, said that domestic tour products related to air tickets for the April 30 holiday are selling slowly. High airfares combined with the fact that the holiday falls in the middle of the week have caused sales to be lower than for international tours, especially land tours to China. According to Mr. Dat, tourists want to travel domestically for the April 30 holiday but are only now worrying about booking tickets, which is "too late".
Explaining why airfares are high even though there is still more than a month until the holiday, Mr. Dat said it could be because many people buy tickets early to visit relatives or travel. On a flight, the airline will offer fares from low to high. If the low-priced fares are all sold out, passengers will have to buy high-priced tickets if they need them. However, according to Mr. Dat, no one in the industry knows how the low and high fares are distributed.
Currently, he assessed that demand is not too high and airlines have not increased capacity to supply tickets for peak season. However, even if capacity is increased in the coming time, Mr. Dat predicts that airfares will be difficult to cool down because airlines such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air are affected by problems related to Pratt & Whitney engines used on A321/A320neo aircraft. The disruption in the supply chain has caused 12 A321 aircraft, or 20% of Vietnam Airlines' main fleet for domestic routes, to be grounded.
Although airfares are "hot", the demand for hotel rooms for the April 30 holiday is not high. Many travel agencies predict that rooms at destinations that require air travel will not be "sold out". However, tourists who want to travel to nearby destinations and travel by car need to plan their reservations early.
TB (according to VnExpress)Source
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