The sharp increase in airfare prices on April 30th has caused many customers to "turn back" to nearby trips. The number of domestic tour bookings including airfares has decreased by 50% compared to last year.
"Working at an airline ticket agency, I couldn't find cheap tickets for my family to travel on April 30," said Ngoc Linh, 39, who lives in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Linh said that during the holidays, she often takes her family to Phu Quoc, Da Nang or Hanoi. This year, even though they booked tickets more than a month in advance, tourists had to pay about 1.5 times more than usual if they wanted to visit famous tourist destinations. Therefore, Linh chose to travel near the April 30 holiday.
Linh said "no year is like this year". Last year, on this occasion, there were 4-5 groups of regular customers asking to book tickets to Phu Quoc, but currently Linh "has not been able to issue any tickets for April 30".
Tourists in Sam Son, Thanh Hoa on April 30, 2023. Photo: Le Hoang
Le Trung Tin, director of Tin Viet Travel Company in Thu Duc City, said the number of customers booking air tours for the April 30 holiday has decreased by 50% compared to last year, as airfares have increased by 20-40%. Mr. Tin said that normally customers can "avoid" high prices by choosing a day of the week or an unfavorable time of day. This year, even if they avoid good times or choose unfavorable times, ticket prices "have not decreased much".
AZA Travel CEO Nguyen Tien Dat said the company mainly sells two types of services: package tours and combos (including airfare and accommodation). The number of customers buying tours or combos including airfare this year has decreased by 40-50%. Instead, the number of customers buying international tours or booking accommodation in places accessible by car has increased by 20-30%.
In the North, the number of guests booking rooms increased sharply in Cat Ba, Quang Ninh, Sam Son, Sa Pa, Van Don. In the South, Mui Ne and Vung Tau are the destinations with the most bookings. Mr. Dat said that rooms in the North near Hanoi are likely to be "sold out" on April 30, but Nha Trang or Vung Tau will rarely experience this situation. "Nha Trang has developed tourism for a long time, so there are many hotels. Chinese tourists have not come like before the pandemic, so there are still many rooms," according to Mr. Dat.
Tourists take souvenir photos at a homestay in Thach That, Hanoi. Photo: Moc Huong homestay
The CEO of AZA Travel also pointed out that this year, the trend of family groups renting an entire homestay near their home has increased. Homestay room rates in the suburbs of Hanoi, Ninh Binh or Nam Dinh are stable, divided per person at about 500,000 VND per night. On the occasion of April 30, the price may increase by about 20%. This number is considered "too cheap" when traveling by road, with low travel costs.
Traveling abroad is also an option that many tourists consider. Thanh Thao, 30 years old, living in Hai Phong, booked a tour to Singapore - Malaysia with her parents on April 30. Thao said that initially the whole family planned to go to Phu Quoc but changed their mind when they saw that international and domestic tours for 5 days and 4 nights were both around 15 million VND.
In addition to traditional tours such as Singapore - Malaysia or Thailand, road tours to Cao Bang, Vietnam - Tinh Tay, China are also being promoted by some travel agencies. The price of a 2-day 1-night tour on April 30 is about 2.6 million VND or a 3-day 2-night tour is 3 million VND.
Marketing and Communications Director of Vietluxtour, Tran Thi Bao Thu, said that Northeast Asia tours are also bustling during this time. Vietnamese tourists flock to see cherry blossoms blooming from late March to April in Korea and Japan. Tours to Taiwan are also booked by many people because they are cheaper, about 11 million VND for 5 days and 4 nights and travel before April 30.
Mr. Dat said that April 30 is a holiday for Vietnam only, so the price of international tours will not be affected, except for China, which also has a holiday on May 1. However, China's Golden Week holiday starts on May 1, while this is the end of Vietnam's holiday. International tours departing on April 30 are only about 10-20% higher than normal days.
Mr. Dat said that in addition to the trend of taking vacations nearby to cut costs, many families do not have travel plans for April 30 because it coincides with the time when children are about to take final exams. Many families wait to go on summer vacation. Therefore, he predicted that domestic tourism on April 30 could decrease by about 20% in terms of visitors and revenue.
Phuong Anh
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