Flight tickets are in high demand again during Tet holiday

Airfares for Tet At Ty 2025 are not only expensive but also scarce, especially on provincial routes. In the photo: passengers traveling to Vinh (Nghe An) from Tan Son Nhat Airport (HCMC) - Photo: QUANG DINH

Information from many travel companies shows that even though they are purchased for groups, domestic airfares are as high as individual tickets, causing domestic tour prices to be pushed up, even much higher than some foreign tours. Therefore, many tourists switch to buying international tours instead of traveling domestically.

Tickets are scarce, prices are high

Surveying the websites of Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines on November 20 for the Tet holiday, we recorded that round-trip ticket prices from January 25 to February 2, 2025 (December 26 to the 5th day of Tet) continued to increase sharply, double compared to normal days and higher than the survey two months ago.

For example, the cheapest flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi is Vietjet, with a round-trip ticket costing VND7.2 million, while other airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines range from VND7.3 to VND7.5 million. Compared to two months ago, the ticket price has increased by about VND300,000.

Similarly, Vietjet opened a round-trip ticket for Ho Chi Minh City - Thanh Hoa at 7.3 million VND, while Vietnam Airlines' ticket price was 10 million VND. Notably, the Ho Chi Minh City - Dong Hoi route was "sold out" on the peak days of January 24 to 25. The Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang route was priced at 5 million VND/round-trip ticket, while the Ho Chi Minh City - Quy Nhon route fluctuated at 5.2 - 5.9 million VND/round-trip ticket.

Representatives of the agents said that the price of round-trip air tickets for Tet is 800,000 - 1.2 million VND/ticket higher than normal days. The Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route, if booked during peak time, has a price ranging from 6 - 8 million VND/round-trip, significantly higher than Tet 2024 at 6 - 6.7 million VND/round-trip ticket.

Despite the high prices, the demand for travel is still very high, especially during good times. The shortage of tickets and the fact that tickets are sold out near Tet are making it difficult for many passengers to choose flights, forcing them to book tickets early to avoid higher costs.

Ms. Minh Trang, an office worker in Ho Chi Minh City, said that she goes back to her hometown every year, but with the price of nearly 8 million VND like this year, she has to consider a lot. But if she books her ticket late, Ms. Trang is worried that the last-minute ticket price may be even higher. Not only popular routes, but also flights with less popular routes have increased sharply.

“I searched for tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Hoi but all the direct flights on peak days were sold out. I am waiting for the airline to increase flights to see if there is a better price,” said Ms. Trang.

Why are flight ticket prices always high during Tet?

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, Mr. Hang Quang Tuan, director of Ngoc Mai Travel (HCMC), said that flights to the provinces during Tet are almost full. However, compared to last year, ticket prices have not increased dramatically because they still follow the ceiling price frame.

According to Mr. Tuan, Tet is the time when people travel the most in the year, especially on flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the northern provinces and vice versa. However, due to the limited frequency of operations at many provincial airports, only reaching 5-7 flights/day/airline, mainly operated by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet, supply cannot meet demand.

Smaller airlines, with limited fleets, find it difficult to add flights to meet demand.

Airlines also explained that the high Tet ticket prices are to offset the costs of flights with different departure times. Before Tet, flights from the South to the North are full, but the return flight is empty. Similarly, after Tet, flights from the North to the South are crowded, while the return flight is often unprofitable. This is a characteristic of aviation operations during peak times.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, a large-scale airline said it will soon provide 2,000 more seats per day on flights during Tet. “We plan to increase flights and offer more ticket prices next week. However, it will be very difficult to get cheap tickets like normal days,” this person said.

However, some people believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many people believe that airlines are taking advantage of Tet to “fix prices” at the highest level that the market will accept. This makes passengers feel that airlines are “following the flow” and putting profits above the interests of customers.

According to a representative of an airline, the operating costs of the aviation industry are very high, from aircraft maintenance, personnel, fuel, these factors are unlikely to decrease during peak season. "There will be no cheap tickets during Tet, but the airline will not increase prices, ensuring compliance with price ceiling regulations," he said.

This person believes that from a business perspective, businesses must make a profit to survive and develop, especially in the aviation industry with high costs and great risks. "As long as the price does not violate the law, airlines have the right to apply appropriate pricing strategies," he emphasized.

Lack of competition, ticket prices are difficult to reduce

According to aviation experts, the lack of competition in the Vietnamese aviation industry, especially during Tet, causes ticket prices to increase during these times. The domestic market is mainly dominated by a few large airlines, making competition in price and service during peak season almost non-existent.

Airlines often raise prices to almost the same level, making it difficult for passengers to choose the best option. In addition, the limited number of airlines and infrastructure means that airlines are not under pressure to reduce prices or improve service. In addition, international airlines do not participate in domestic routes, further reducing competition.

“Meanwhile, in developed markets like the US or Europe, strong competition between airlines often helps maintain reasonable ticket prices even during peak seasons,” an expert said.

Airfares make domestic tours difficult

Prices for Tet tours to the North have been increased due to increased airfares. In the photo: tourists visit Cat Cat village in Sa Pa (Lao Cai) - Photo: Q.D.

Talking to us, Ms. Tran Phuong Linh, marketing director - information technology BenThanh Tourist, said that Tet airfares increased by more than 50% compared to normal days, leading to an increase in tour prices. Some tours that customers are interested in have increased in price, such as Phu Quoc Tet tour priced at 8 - 9 million VND, Northern tour priced at 12 - 14 million VND, similar to tours to Malaysia or Singapore.

“Group airfares have also increased, just like individual airfares, pushing up the price of domestic tours to the same level as international tours, so many tourists have chosen international tours,” said Ms. Linh, adding that the price of the company’s Tet tours has increased by 4-20% compared to normal days, not much different compared to the same period in 2023 thanks to working with airline partners early.

According to some travel companies, the number of domestic tourism products to the Northern tourism markets (Ha Long, Ha Giang, Northwest...) has decreased by more than 50% compared to the same period in 2023. Due to high airfares, tours to the Northern market are always in the group of tours with the highest prices in the domestic tour package during Tet.

“In addition to high airfares, tourists are also hesitant to book tours to the North due to infrastructure being affected by storms and floods, not to mention the weather,” said a travel company leader. In addition, with the nine-day Tet holiday, travel programs to distant markets with long itineraries are more popular with customers.

A survey by Vietravel shows that during the 2025 Lunar New Year, the number of overseas Vietnamese tourists returning home to celebrate Tet, traveling with family and friends increased sharply compared to the same period last year and they are paying attention to overseas tours. Among the overseas tours, China is one of the "hottest" destinations among international markets.

Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, representative of Vietluxtour, said that the trend of tourists booking international tours accounting for a higher proportion than tourists booking domestic tours/services for Tet has been happening for about two years now. However, according to Vietluxtour's experience, domestic tours may become more active from the end of November.

Businesses continue to stimulate demand with good price policies and early purchase discounts, group purchases with discounts of up to 3 million VND/person for all tours. Many travel companies also said that domestic tourists often book tours quite late, the majority of domestic tour buyers are still surveying services and prices, the occupancy rate is about 30%.

From the reality of the market in the past 2-3 years, domestic tourism services are very diverse and flexible, from package tours to partial services and selling throughout Tet like previous years to serve tourists with sudden Tet travel plans.

Businesses expect purchasing power to increase as Tet approaches. In the general market, many businesses said they have achieved nearly 60-70% of their 2025 Tet business plan.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ve-may-bay-tet-den-hen-lai-cang-20241122082222143.htm