Will the 9-day Tet holiday create a "boost" for tourism?

In mid-September, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs proposed and consulted with ministries and sectors on a plan to have a 9-day Lunar New Year holiday, from January 25 to February 2, 2025, that is, from December 26 to the 5th day of the Lunar New Year. The plan was approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs and will be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration.

Ms. Tran Phuong Linh, Marketing Director - Information Technology BenThanh Tourist, said that if the information about the 9-day Tet holiday was announced early, it would help businesses be more proactive in their business plans. The long holiday could help the number of customers booking tourism services increase by 20% compared to the previous Tet.

Hoang Viet Travel also hopes that the long break will create an opportunity for recovery for the tourism industry, which has faced many difficulties this year. Ms. Pham Thi Thu Huyen, Sales Director of MayTrip, added that the early announcement of the Tet holiday schedule will help avoid the situation of "customers not being able to find tours, and companies not having tours to sell".

With the long holiday, long-distance tours can sell better, and Vietnamese tourists also tend to prefer traveling abroad during Tet instead of domestically. Therefore, travel companies have reserved many services in destinations such as Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and even distant markets such as Australia, Eastern - Western Europe, Turkey, Egypt.

Danh Nam Travel believes that the 9-day break will create a comfortable mindset for customers traveling during the holiday. However, the company has no plans to adjust its business plan in case the proposal is approved. The reason is that the holiday is scheduled to start on the 26th of Tet, earlier than usual, but customers' travel habits start from the 1st of Tet onwards.

Tours of Hoang Viet Travel or BenThanh Tourist during Tet also have departure schedules mainly from the first day of Tet, some tours with 5-8 days can depart from the 28th to the 30th of Tet. "If we take a break from the 26th of Tet, people will have enough time to rest, visit relatives and friends and feel secure booking tours during and after Tet," said Ms. Luu Thi Thu, representative of Hoang Viet Travel.

BenThanh Tourist said it will continue to survey the market to consider adding tour programs during Tet. The company noted that Vietnamese tourists' travel trends change over time, and they are ready to depart early, even before Tet.

"This is not the first time Vietnam has had a nine-day Tet holiday and reality shows that the longer the holiday, the more positive the impact on tourism," said Ms. Linh.

Although Vietnamese people value tradition and family reunions during Tet, travel companies also admit that there has been a change in recent years, with many tours departing on the night of the 30th and lasting through Tet.

According to a representative of Hoang Viet Travel, the trend of "escape Tet" travel has existed since around 2018, with departures mainly on the 2nd and destinations being European countries or the US. Since the pandemic, this trend has begun to increase, with more and more customers departing on the 30th or 1st of Tet, mainly for relaxation instead of exploration. This year, the company has booked services for 5-day, 4-night Singapore - Malaysia tours or Dubai departing from the 28th to the 2nd of Tet.

MayTrip also said it will import more Japan tours departing from the 26th of Tet to better suit this year's situation, although every year, the departure schedule is usually scattered from the 30th to the 3rd of Tet. Currently, the company has recorded customers depositing for the Hokkaido tour during the snowy season, departing on the 29th of Tet, priced at nearly 49 million VND.

Many travel agencies also commented that the psychology of tourists in the South is somewhat more "open" than in the North, willing to travel during Tet. Dinh Anh, who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, has traveled abroad during Tet twice, with destinations including Singapore and Australia. This year, he plans to continue to "escape Tet" if he does not have work because the 9-day holiday is very suitable for an overseas trip.

According to Danh Nam Travel representative, the trend of tourists traveling before Tet is increasing but mainly only in big cities, the group of tourists from the provinces still have the habit of keeping the tradition of celebrating Tet at home. Not to mention, the difficult economy and damage caused by storms and floods this year also have a negative impact on tourists' "wallets", so Mr. Tung will "only sell sparingly, not import massively".

Mr. Pham Hai Quynh, Director of the Asian Tourism Development Institute (ATI), also said that the 9-day holiday is mainly before Tet, while most Vietnamese people have the mentality of resting and traveling after Tet, before the full moon (15th lunar month). The ATI representative proposed that extending the holiday after Tet "will be a win-win situation", helping to promote tourism, in line with people's psychology.

Regarding domestic tours, Mustgo, an online booking platform with more than 2,000 hotel partners nationwide, predicts that the most popular destinations will still be Sa Pa, Phan Thiet, Vung Tau or Nha Trang. However, Head of Product Development Tran Quoc Hung said that the 9-day holiday even creates challenges for domestic tourism because Vietnamese tourists who like to travel abroad are now given more favorable conditions.

This unit predicts that airfares may increase by 10-15% compared to the April 30 holiday, greatly affecting customers' choices. Besides the group going abroad, many people will switch to traveling by road, to nearby destinations. Currently, because Tet is still four months away, airfares have not changed much and hotels and resorts in areas dependent on flight routes have not yet reduced prices or offered promotions.

"We also need to understand that vacations are not only aimed at tourists," said Mr. Quynh.