Travel companies in Ho Chi Minh City are busy serving the increasing travel needs of people and tourists during Tet. Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, Marketing and Communication Director of Vietluxtour, said that the demand for travel during the Lunar New Year 2025 is on the rise, especially in big cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, with an increase of about 25% compared to Tet 2024, mostly concentrated in the family segment of 2-3 generations.
According to tourism businesses, the 9-day Lunar New Year 2025 holiday makes it easier for tourists to enjoy short and long trips, both domestically and internationally.
Popular foreign tours
Two weeks before the Lunar New Year, many travel companies announced the closure of their foreign tour products. The fastest selling tours are Japan, China, Korea and Australia.
Deputy Director Luu Thi Thu of Hoang Viet Travel said that customers tend to choose tours to cold countries, especially those with skiing experiences. The Japan route was the first to “sell out”, and Tet tours to cold regions of China also recorded a doubling of bookings over the same period last year.
However, traditional routes such as Taiwan and Thailand are selling slowly. Currently, the company has reached 90% of its plan to sell tours to Taiwan and only accepts additional guests with visas because there is not enough time to complete the procedures. Meanwhile, tours to Thailand such as Bangkok – Pattaya or Chiang Mai still have 20% of seats available, with a discount of one million VND to speed up sales.
Mr. Pham Anh Vu, Deputy General Director of Vietravel, said that according to statistics, the best-selling routes this Tet season are tours to the North (Hanoi, Ha Long, Sa Pa, Ninh Binh), the Central region (Da Nang, Hoi An).
These itineraries all have cool or cold climates, suitable for the needs of tourists’ different Tet experiences and flexible schedules, including both short-day and long-day options.
Domestic tourism: Road trips become popular as airfares soar
Data from Mustgo, a hotel booking platform with over 2,000 partners nationwide, shows a surge in travel demand for the upcoming Lunar New Year. As of January 16th, popular destinations like Sa Pa, Vung Tau, Da Lat, and Phan Thiet are nearing full occupancy for the holiday period (January 31st to February 2nd).
Phu Quoc is also experiencing high demand, with 5-star hotels at 90% capacity and central 4-star hotels almost fully booked. Securing rooms for the main holiday dates (January 28th-30th) is proving difficult as most hotels have stopped accepting reservations. Mustgo reports that domestic tourists account for only 15% of Phu Quoc’s Lunar New Year visitors, suggesting that the island’s popularity is driven largely by international travelers.
With airfares skyrocketing and airlines prioritizing individual ticket sales over group bookings, many travel agencies have opted out of offering domestic air tours. Mr. Vu, a representative from Vietravel, confirms this trend, noting that air travel to destinations like Phu Quoc is facing low demand due to high prices. Their Ho Chi Minh City – Phu Quoc route, for example, is currently 40% available despite a 15% price increase compared to normal fares.
This has led to a boom in road trips, particularly those within a 500 km radius of major cities. Affordable costs and convenient travel are driving this trend, with popular itineraries including tours from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Da Lat, Vung Tau, and Quy Nhon, and from Hanoi to Sa Pa, Ha Long, Ha Giang, and Ninh Binh.
Vietravel reports strong sales for these road tours, with central region tours sold out and northern tours nearing capacity. The flexibility of bus tours, which can accept bookings up until the 28th of Tet, further contributes to their popularity. However, Mr. Vu notes that the surge in demand, coupled with a 30-40% increase in vehicle rental costs, presents challenges in meeting customer needs.
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