According to Agoda, the number of visitors from China increased by nearly 300%. Of which, Phu Quoc became the top choice of destination for international tourists, with the number of accommodation searches increasing by 266% compared to 2024.
Bustling tourists coming and going
Data from the platform also shows a significant increase in accommodation searches from travelers in other locations such as South Korea and Taiwan (China), up 94% and 123%, respectively. The results are based on booking search data collected from November 27 to December 21, 2024, with check-in dates from January 25 to February 2, 2025.
Notably, in the opposite direction, for the foreign tourism market, international destinations such as Bangkok (Thailand), Tokyo (Japan) and Singapore are on the list of priority choices for Vietnamese tourists. In particular, Tokyo recorded a 193% increase in searches, surpassing Bali (Indonesia) to become the most favorite destination for Vietnamese tourists during Tet this year.
On the “inbound” side, in the first days of 2025, Saigontourist Travel Service Company welcomed 5 international cruise ships to Vietnam. In total, from January 4 to 31, 2025, Saigontourist Travel will welcome and serve 19,800 international cruise ship tourists from the United States, Canada, England, etc. to experience the cross-Vietnam cruise.
Similarly, purchasing power at many travel companies has recorded positive signals thanks to the vibrant number of international visitors. According to Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu - Marketing and Communications Director of Vietluxtour Travel, the company has researched and enhanced product innovation and appropriate marketing methods to effectively exploit potential customer markets (Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, India, Arabia, etc.), in parallel with key markets such as Europe, America, Australia, Northeast Asia. Notably, the number of overseas Vietnamese booking tours at the end of the year at Vietluxtour increased by about 30% compared to the same period, most concentrated in the time before Tet. The most popular destinations for customers are Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue, etc.
Meanwhile, BenThanh Tourist Travel said that the long holiday schedule is one of the factors affecting tourists' tour selection during the Lunar New Year. Mr. Pham Anh Vu - representative of Viet Tourism Media Joint Stock Company said that in recent years, Vietnamese people have had an increasing demand for high-end tourism products. 5-star resort tours with diverse services, separate from urban areas, helping tourists relax and enjoy the peaceful space in Con Dao, Nha Trang ... attract a large number of tourists.
For Vietravel, spring travel itineraries to countries in the Asian region are also quite popular with many tourists, including tours to Japan, India, Bhutan, etc. According to Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra - Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Travel Service Company, the company is almost fully booked for foreign tours during Tet, with 99 itineraries departing from December 25 to the 10th of Tet. The new thing this year is that Vietnamese tourists have registered for cruise tours with the route Singapore - Penang (Malaysia) - Phuket (Thailand) for 6 days and Singapore - Penang (Malaysia) for 4 days. These tours are currently full.
In general, the 9-day Lunar New Year holiday in 2025 has positively affected tourists' travel demand. Tour purchasing power at some companies increased by about 15% - 20% compared to last year.
More flights, more seats but still "sold out"
As of January 15, Vietnamese airlines added about 133,000 seats on domestic routes compared to the previous week. However, despite the significant number of additional flights, many routes from Ho Chi Minh City to other localities are quickly filling up during the days before Tet and in the opposite direction during the period after Tet.
For the main routes such as Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi, Hanoi - Da Nang, Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City, the occupancy rate has increased rapidly from January 25 to February 2 (ie December 26 to January 5 of the lunar calendar). In particular, the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi/Da Nang route has seen an occupancy rate of over 95% on some days near Tet, "despite" the price being about 1.7 - 2.6 million VND/ticket/way higher than last year's Tet. "In general, tourists still consider the cost of airfare a lot. Therefore, tourists tend to look for products that combine package deals, hunt for promotional packages from travel businesses" - Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of BestPrice, shared.
If departing from Hanoi, the most "ideal" tourist destinations for this Tet holiday include: Ho Chi Minh City, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Quy Nhon. According to travel companies, in addition to familiar destinations, this year's Tet holiday, many families choose to travel to the Central Highlands provinces, including Da Lat (Lam Dong province); Mang Den (Kon Tum province); Bac Ha, Sa Pa (Lao Cai province) and Dong Van Stone Plateau (Ha Giang province). Information from accommodation establishments shows that most tourists depart from Hanoi starting on the 2nd day of Tet and check out, ending the trip at noon on the 5th day of Tet. In addition to traveling by plane to distant tourist destinations, many people choose to travel with family and friends within 400km, many of which are done by personal car.
According to statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Vietnamese airlines have added 522 flights during the Lunar New Year. Of which, Vietnam Airlines wet-leased (including flight crew) 3 new Airbus A320 aircraft, adding 75,000 seats, equivalent to 400 flights during the Tet season. Vietjet received 4 more aircraft and Bamboo Airways 2 aircraft.
It is known that the total number of seats provided on domestic routes is approximately 4.8 million seats (average 160,000 seats/day), an increase of about 3.5% over the same period in 2024.
However, many routes from Ho Chi Minh City to other localities were fully booked during the days before Tet and in the opposite direction during the period after Tet. Many routes continued to have a 100% booking rate. Among them are routes such as Hanoi - Buon Ma Thuot, Ho Chi Minh City - Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Pleiku, Chu Lai... Similarly, the main routes Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang were "sold out".
An airline ticket agent said that airfares for Tet this year remain high, sometimes double the price of the same period last year. For example, Vietnam Airlines business class tickets for the Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang route cost from VND9.4 to VND15.9 million; while Vietjet and Vietravel Airlines cost from VND5.8 to VND6 million, double the price compared to the time of purchase before January 15.
Mr. Le Cong Nang – General Director of WonderTour also said that the long Tet holiday means an increase in the number of tourists, thereby boosting revenue, expanding the market, diversifying products and improving service quality. According to predictions, tourism revenue can grow from 15% to 20% compared to the same period last year.
According to Mr. Phung Quang Thang - Vice President of Vietnam Tourism Association, the recent trend of domestic tourism is that tourists travel by themselves or only book part of the service through travel agencies. This shows that the application of digital technology in Vietnamese service providers is becoming more and more widespread. This Tet holiday, this is expected to continue.
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