Many Vietnamese tourists choose to celebrate the New Year abroad.

"Satisfying, sparkling, worth the 13-hour wait" is the feeling of Ms. Dung Pham in Hanoi after watching the fireworks display welcoming the new year 2024 on the Sydney Harbor Bridge, Australia. She, her husband and friends chose seats and waited here from 11am with thousands of Australians and tourists to witness the special moment at this famous place.

Ms. Dung came to Australia in mid-December to visit relatives, travel, and celebrate New Year's Eve abroad for the first time. Knowing that Sydney Harbor is one of the most impressive New Year's Eve destinations in the world, she and her husband arranged their travel itinerary in the most reasonable way so that they could be there on December 31.

"This first experience is very valuable, helping me relax mentally and giving me more motivation for the new year," said Ms. Dung.

Ms. Trinh Hang in Hai Phong also decided to celebrate the most important moment of the new year abroad for the first time because "she wanted to enjoy the festive atmosphere in Europe, especially Christmas and New Year's Eve". Ms. Hang said that this is also the biggest discount season of the year with many new products and collections from major brands. Everywhere is decorated splendidly and beautifully.

At the end of December 2023, Ms. Hang decided to travel and booked an 11-day, 10-night tour through three countries: France - Switzerland - Italy, in which on the night of December 31, she was in Venice - one of the most romantic New Year's Eve destinations in the world and "not as crowded as other big cities".

Knowing that choosing a tour during the New Year will increase costs, with both airfare and hotel rooms being 20-30% higher, Ms. Hang still accepts this "first-in-a-lifetime" experience. According to Ms. Hang, in winter, the days are short and the nights are long, so taking a tour is reasonable and saves time traveling between attractions.

Choosing to travel abroad during the New Year is an experience that helps tourists understand more about the culture, especially in countries that do not celebrate the Lunar New Year. On this occasion, especially in places with fireworks and countdown ceremonies, tourists also have the opportunity to witness the organization, security and order, and many other things that are not available during other times of the year. Most Vietnamese tourists celebrating the New Year abroad appreciate the order and discipline in the organization of the host country.

Although they had to wait more than 13 hours to be seated, Dung and her friends had nothing to complain about. They were allowed to bring food and drinks, but the police checked their bags when entering the fireworks viewing spots. Most people were aware and sat in the designated areas. Occasionally, the police had to remind violators. The fireworks viewing area had enough restrooms, food and drink carts, and the surrounding areas were neat and clean.

"They are also very thoughtful when organizing a small fireworks display, called Family Fireworks at 9 p.m. for families with young children who have to go home early to sleep," said Ms. Dung.

Mr. Pham Van Chinh and his wife in Hanoi were also present at the moment of welcoming the new year 2024 in Shanghai, China and were "impressed" with the traffic and security coordination in the central area.

"They sent the army to control traffic on the streets along the center, along with the police. There were a lot of people but they complied," said Mr. Chinh.

Shanghai does not have a countdown festival, people mainly gather in the area along the Huangpu River to eat, drink and shop. "The crowd must be dozens of times larger than Hoan Kiem Lake. They are crowded but orderly, do not jostle and follow all regulations, keep the surrounding area clean, and do not honk their horns," said Mr. Chinh.

Many years ago, Vietnamese people often considered New Year's Day as a "Western" New Year, but now many Western features have deeply integrated into Vietnamese life. Organizing countdown festivals and big music parties to welcome the new year or going out during the transitional moment is proof of that.

Marketing Director of Best Price Travel Company Bui Thanh Tu said that this New Year they have 70 groups registering for foreign tours, from both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Most of the tourists are young people, families, choosing destinations mainly in Asia.

"The average tour price has increased by 1.2 to 1.5 times compared to normal days, but the number of tour bookings is still much higher than in 2022 when foreign tourism is just starting to return, even higher than before Covid in 2019. The itinerary is also diverse, including both air and road routes," said Mr. Tu.

Similarly, a representative of Vietnam Tourism said that there were more than 50 groups "going abroad" to celebrate the New Year, the most popular destinations were South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan, accounting for 90% of the tours this time. Domestic tours only accounted for about 10%, mainly family groups going to Phan Thiet and Phu Quoc, there were no MICE groups.