Going to Moc Chau (Son La) with her family on the 3rd day of Tet, Ms. Ha (Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi) had to go through a very difficult spring trip. First, most of the resorts that Ms. Ha contacted were fully booked, so Ms. Ha had to spend a lot of time finding an old hotel with a room rate nearly double the usual price to stay temporarily.
“ Because I had no prior preparation, I only looked for a room while I was on the road. I did not think that there would be so many people traveling during Tet, so I did not ask about the situation in advance. When I arrived, I was shocked to see that all the hotels, motels and homestays were fully booked. They said that guests had booked rooms before Tet, but because there were so many people, many places were fully booked on the 30th of Tet. I considered returning to another place to rest, but luckily I found a room later and continued my journey,” said Ms. Ha.
Having just finished the room deal, Ms. Ha's family had a hard time moving around and finding a restaurant to eat. Ms. Ha said that the streets were always crowded with people, cars were lined up endlessly, and if they passed a place they needed to find, it was difficult to turn around. More importantly, many restaurants and tourist attractions "criticized" customers because they were "broken", unable to serve the large number of guests.
"It's really a war because customers have to compete and keep their seats very fiercely, if they are late, they will lose their seats. Because there are no waiters, customers have to get their own food and pay for themselves, and sometimes the restaurant owner can't even control the situation, if a customer doesn't pay, they can't handle it in time, " said Ms. Ha.
Similarly, the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hai (Ba Dinh District, Hanoi) went on a spring trip to Ha Giang on the third day of Tet. The initial plan of Ms. Hai's family was to stop at any stop that was suitable for the route and then eat and rest there. However, when they arrived, the family could not find any hotel or resort with available rooms.
“I have been to Ha Giang several times before, but during different times of the year. Knowing that there are many hotels and resorts here, I thought there was no need to book a room in advance. However, when we arrived, my family could not find a room and had to go to the city center, to the tourist attractions, to find a room,” said Ms. Hai.
Also sharing her experience during a spring trip to the scenic Huong Pagoda on the opening day of the festival, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (Nam Truc, Nam Dinh) said that she and her family encountered overload in most services as well as transportation.
“ Our family of five had to wait in line for a long time to buy cable car tickets and boat tickets along Yen stream. The rainy weather on the opening day of the festival made the wait extremely uncomfortable, and the spring trip was also interrupted for many hours, ” said Ms. Hoa.
Boat rental service at Huong Pagoda is full of customers on the 6th day of Tet. (Photo: Ngo Tran)
Mr. Ngo Minh Tuyen, owner of a homestay business in Moc Chau, said that this year, because there were so many people wanting to travel for spring, guests who wanted to have a room had to book before Tet. He had to turn down many orders from customers.
Accordingly, Mr. Tuyen recommends that people need to prepare before going on a spring trip to avoid their journey being unfavorable. In particular, travel plans, meals and rest are factors that need to be prepared early.
" Families traveling with 3-4 people can easily find a room, larger groups need to prepare in advance. After the Lunar New Year holiday around the 8th of the lunar calendar, the number of guests will cool down, room prices will also decrease accordingly, people need to plan, refer to the schedule they intend to travel to have the most convenient spring trip", said Mr. Tuyen.
Tourism in the early year of the Dragon is booming
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, from February 8 to 14 (ie from December 29 to January 5), the tourism industry nationwide is estimated to welcome and serve 10.5 million domestic visitors (up 16.6% over the same period in 2023); of which there are about 3.5 million overnight visitors (up 75% over the same period in 2023).
The Giap Thin Tet holiday also recorded a high increase in the number of international visitors to many localities. Specifically, Da Nang is estimated to welcome nearly 177,000 arrivals; Hanoi is estimated to welcome nearly 103,000 arrivals, 2.2 times higher than the same period in 2023; Ninh Binh is estimated to welcome nearly 100,000 arrivals; Quang Nam is estimated to welcome 97,000 arrivals, an increase of 42%; Quang Ninh is estimated to welcome 89,767 arrivals; Ho Chi Minh City is estimated to welcome 75,000 arrivals, an increase of 15.4% compared to the same period in 2023; Kien Giang is estimated to welcome 44,370 arrivals, an increase of 4.8 times compared to the same period in 2023...
The trend of independent travel, small groups, families, and self-booking services at destinations has increased this year, especially in destinations close to markets near Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Thanh Lam
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