Tourism

Many tours depart during Tet

TH (according to VnExpress) January 27, 2025 18:11

Due to the long holiday, many Vietnamese tourists choose to travel abroad during Tet. Tours start on the 26th of the lunar calendar with thousands of tourists going to China, Japan, and Thailand.

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Mr. Khanh on a trip to Japan on January 25

On January 26 (27th of Lunar New Year), the tourist groups traveling through Tet of Viet Travel Company departed. The day before, three groups with more than 100 people of the company also went abroad to Thailand, Japan, and China for the journey through Tet.

Mr. Manh Khanh, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, and his family of five traveled for the first time during Tet, with the destination being Japan. Previously, his family usually left their trip after Tet, but this year, due to the long holidays, the whole family made the trip before Tet.

"Both my husband and I work and the children go to school, so we were busy before Tet. Now that we have a longer holiday, the whole family decided to leave and return on the first day of Tet, so we still have time to visit relatives," said Mr. Khanh.

Ms. Phan Thuy, from Hanoi, is in Chengdu (China), said that this is the first time she has traveled during Tet so she saw many new things. She commented that Chengdu is a big city but "the atmosphere is quiet, no music, no flowers, nothing like Tet, very different from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City which are very bustling during this time".

A representative of Viet Travel Company said that it served about 10,000 guests with nearly 200 tours during Tet, of which 20% traveled during Tet (through New Year's Eve and the first day of the New Year), an increase of 15% compared to last year. Guests departing before Tet mainly focused on young people, families and overseas Vietnamese.

The most popular foreign tours are still the China route with many new travel programs, affordable prices, and convenient transportation. Danh Nam Travel and its alliance served 200 Chinese tourists during the Lunar New Year. Groups departing before the Lunar New Year such as Chongqing - Jiuzhaigou from January 23 to January 28 (24 to 29 of the Lunar New Year) or Lijiang from January 22 to January 26 (23 to 27 of the Lunar New Year) were all fully booked due to the demand for tourists to see the snowfall.

Director Nguyen Ngoc Tung of Danh Nam Travel said that tours returning before the 29th of Tet are usually about 30% cheaper than tours during the main holiday. In addition, customers who buy tours can return before Tet to celebrate the new year in Vietnam.

However, this group only accounts for about 30% of the number of customers, the majority still prioritize tours departing on the first day of Tet and returning before the 6th day even though the price is higher. For example, the 6-day Lijiang - Shangri La tour, departing on the 27th of Tet of the alliance, is still fully booked with 20 customers even though it costs nearly 21 million VND per person - twice as expensive as the Lijiang tour subsidized by shopping destinations, departing on the 23rd of Tet.

Yunnan Group Tours - a unit specializing in routes to Yunnan, China - served about 1,200 guests during the Lunar New Year with 6 groups departing before Tet, the earliest group going on the Kunming - Kieu Tu Snow Mountain route from the 23rd of Tet. Most guests still chose to depart on the morning of the 2nd day of Tet despite being warned that the Chau Hong Ha or Kunming routes would be as crowded as every year.

"Many customers still like to shop or are busy with work, so not everyone can go out before Tet," said Ms. Hoang Tuyet, representative of Van Nam Group Tours.

According to Ms. Tuyet, groups departing before Tet have the most complete experience because most of them have completed their year-end work, immigration procedures are quick, they can return home in time to celebrate New Year's Eve, and they also successfully "hunt" for snow at Kieu Tu Mountain and Kunming City.

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Vietnamese tourists in Jiuzhaigou on January 26

Among the destinations during Tet, the Kunming route attracts Vietnamese tourists thanks to its price of less than 10 million VND, with new attractions such as the Kingdom of Tiny. In addition, the demand for snow hunting among Vietnamese tourists is still very high and the program to experience Kieu Tu Snow Mountain is often priced at 30% of the price of the tour to Lijiang to see Ngoc Long Snow Mountain.

In the domestic tour market, travel agencies have recorded very few individual customers buying tours during Tet, so they hardly develop products and only sell on demand. However, the group of corporate customers tends to increase as many companies organize teambuilding and conferences 5-10 days before Tet.

"Services are not yet at their peak, so companies are taking advantage of the opportunity to organize year-end parties and vacations for employees," said Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, representative of Vietluxtour.

TH (according to VnExpress)
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