Many last minute opportunities to book hotels and tours for Tet

A week before Tet, travel agencies are still accepting registrations for Tet tours. According to businesses, this year’s domestic tour products are diversified and launched early, but purchasing power is weak. A certain number of customers still have a wait-and-see mentality, booking tours at the last minute.

According to Mr. Nguyen Phi Hong Nguyen, Sales Director of Viet Promotion Service and Tourism Company (Nha Trang), at this time every year, customers book tours in a flurry, and the company even has to close the books because of overcrowding. "This year, the number of customers is low, with only a few small groups," Mr. Nguyen said, adding that the reason is the decrease in demand and revenue and expenditure.

Similarly, Mr. Tran The Dung, General Director of Fiditour-Vietluxtour Travel, said that this year's Tet market is not as expected. "Based on market assessment and demand, we do not book too many services from partners. The company currently has about 10% of package tours still open for customers to register," Mr. Dung said, adding that the tours that still accept customers mainly travel by road.

Other travel companies also admit that the purchasing power of Tet tours is still far behind pre-pandemic levels. "Compared to Tet 2019, the number of customers who booked services early this year only reached nearly 30%," said Mr. Nguyen. According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications - Marketing of TST Tourist in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), the revenge tourism mentality is no longer there, the number of customers of the company during Tet is less than 1,000 people, lower than previous years. Large companies such as Vietravel, customers registered reached nearly 80% of the plan and have not yet closed the books.

In recent years, due to the impact of Covid-19, Vietnamese tourists tend to close their service deals close to the departure date. In addition, they focus more on individual service packages, Free and Easy products (air tickets and/or hotels). The number of independent travelers has increased.

Independent travelers who do not go through a travel agency often book rooms on the world's leading websites such as Agoda or Booking. And currently, the number of vacant rooms on these two websites in Sa Pa, Quang Binh, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Phu Quoc... are all abundant with low prices.

Phu Quoc, one of the suitable destinations for both Northern and Southern tourists, still has available rooms. Vinpearl, Crown Plaza, Pullman, Movenpick, Premier Residences can easily book rooms on the 2nd and 3rd days of Tet with prices ranging from 3-4 million VND per night. In Quang Binh, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, 4 to 5 star hotels and resorts cost only from 500,000 to more than 3 million VND and there are still many options.

Representatives of some travel companies said that hotel or resort rooms are not difficult to book and there are still a large number. However, one of the reasons why many people are not "interested" in traveling during Tet is because airfares have increased, reaching the peak summer holiday level. Round-trip tickets from Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi to Da Nang on Vietnam Airlines are about 5 million VND per person, round-trip tickets from Hanoi to Phu Quoc on Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Airlines are both nearly 7 million VND per person.

According to VnExpress