“Golden Holiday” Victory Day: Why is there a “comeback” in the domestic market?

Indian tourists visit the Independence Palace, Ho Chi Minh City. (Illustration photo: CTV/Vietnam+)

“Every year, with long holidays like April 30 and May 1, my family usually goes abroad. But this year is a very special and meaningful occasion to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South, so I decided that the whole family will go to Ho Chi Minh City. During the program, we will visit historical sites, especially Sac forest and Cu Chi tunnels. I want the children to know and understand more about the heroic history of the nation,” said Ms. Pham Uyen, in Ba Dinh, Hanoi.

Sharing the same sentiment, many Vietnamese tourists have chosen domestic destinations with historical sites instead of going abroad during the upcoming long holiday.

Representatives of travel agencies also noted that the ratio of Vietnamese tourists traveling domestically and abroad during the April 30 holiday was similar. Some agencies even said that the number of Vietnamese tourists traveling domestically was higher than that of traveling abroad. Journeys to the source with historical and cultural elements have great appeal to tourists.

Tour to the source is on the rise

Up to this point, at many travel agencies, tours for the April 30 holiday have been fully booked up to 90%. In particular, many tours to the source have been closed early. A representative of Vietluxtour said that the most booked programs by tourists include the Saigon Special Forces tour, Saigon past and present, District 1 - night colors, Legend of heroes (Sac Forest Special Forces - Steel Land and Bronze Citadel)...

General Director of Flamingo Redtours, Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan informed that the company's customers are very interested in the journeys such as: Marching in the forest, Spring in the war zone, Re-enacting the heroic history of the nation in Thai Nguyen, Tan Trao (Tuyen Quang).

Notably, the experience of traveling by train to Quang Binh and Quang Tri is also popular with visitors. Because this form of transportation allows visitors to enjoy the scenery through the window throughout the journey.

In response to the increased demand from customers, a representative of Vietravel Company's Hanoi branch said that thanks to the extended holiday and tours to historical sites associated with the 50th anniversary of national reunification... up to this point, the number of customers buying April 30 tours from the business has increased by more than 30% compared to the same period in 2024.

In addition to package tours, this year, customers tend to prefer Free and Easy - a form of tourism that only includes basic services such as hotel rooms and transportation, so that they can freely visit, explore destinations and freely experience local cuisine without depending on the travel agency's itinerary.

With Vietravel Hanoi, the destinations that are often chosen by customers are Sapa (Lao Cai), Ha Giang, Cao Bang... or the Da Nang-Hue, Ho Chi Minh City-Western region, Buon Ma Thuot-Pleiku routes, tours following the itinerary of the country's reunification day...

Regarding foreign tours, representatives of travel companies said that traditional markets such as Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Japan still have certain appeal to tourists. In addition, destinations in China are also chosen by many people.

Why is there a domestic "comeback"?

Perhaps it has been a long time since domestic tourism businesses have witnessed a holiday where domestic destinations were not overshadowed by foreign tours. Even a representative of the online hotel booking system iVIVU recorded a large number of guests living in Ho Chi Minh City and Bien Hoa booking rooms in the city center on April 30 to watch the parade and fireworks.

Accordingly, the areas with fully booked rooms are located along the walking street, along the Saigon River, near the Independence Palace, etc. This shows that the "staycation" tourism trend (short-term travel near where you live) has begun to spread and is popular among Vietnamese people.

Notably, over 15,000 tours and promotional tourism products were sold to customers at the International Tourism Fair - VITM Hanoi 2025 which took place last week, showing that domestic tours have actually increased in price slightly, while international tours remain stable in price. Customers tend to choose tours traveling by road within a radius of 300km from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

Representatives of some businesses assessed that last year, the domestic market was "turned away", Vietnamese tourists flocked to go abroad on the occasion of April 30 because domestic airfares increased too much. This year, the ratio of domestic and international tours is almost equal.

Explaining the "reversal" of this domestic tour, experts said that although airfares during the holidays are still high, there are still cheap tickets at certain flight times, or some airlines have their own discount strategies for travel companies. Moreover, this year, Vietnamese tourists have become accustomed to and gradually accepted that airfares will be high during the holidays.

Therefore, even though airfares are on average 10-15% higher than in 2025, Vietnamese tourists will no longer be as "shocked" as before. Instead of choosing destinations by air, many people choose nearby destinations and short trips, perhaps choosing a 3-day, 2-night trip instead of going for a full 5-day holiday.

In addition, because they do not accept the high tour prices when using flights, tourists also choose to travel by train or drive their own cars across Vietnam. Unlike buying a package tour when traveling internationally, Vietnamese tourists traveling domestically often choose a combo package including transportation and hotel rooms to get a better price than buying separately.

It can be seen that the series of events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification in the city named after Uncle Ho, or historical destinations across the country have spread their appeal, contributing to retaining Vietnamese tourists during this year's special "golden holiday" of April 30. The tourism industry has another opportunity to accelerate to soon reach the target of serving 120-130 million domestic visitors, moving towards raising total revenue to reach the million billion VND mark as set out.