Domestic Tet tours are being 'turned away' due to high airfares

Van Thinh, a tourist from Hanoi, is currently looking for airfare to travel for Tet with his family but has not found any feasible options. The cheapest airfare he found for the Hanoi - Nha Trang round-trip flight from January 30, 2025 to February 2, 2025 (the 2nd to the 5th day of Tet) is about 5.4 million VND for normal flight times; good times cost more than 7 million VND.

Similarly, the price of a round-trip ticket to Phu Quoc also fluctuates around 7.5 million VND for a good flight time, double the price on normal days; a bad flight time costs more than 5 million VND for a round-trip. For a family of four, tourists are estimated to spend nearly 30 million VND on airfare alone, so they decided to temporarily postpone their domestic travel plans during Tet.

Ticket office data from Best Price shows that airfares are highest during the period from the second to the sixth day of Tet (January 30 to February 3, 2025) because this is the time when people start going out. Compared to Tet Giap Thin, ticket prices this year have increased by about 10-15%.

According to a survey on the morning of November 20, the price of a round-trip air ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi from January 30 to February 3, 2025 is about 5.7 million VND, with bad flight times and good flight times costing 7 million VND. On normal days, a round-trip ticket for this route costs about 2.5-3.5 million VND.

During the Lunar New Year, the round-trip ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc costs from 3.7 million VND, and around 3 million VND on weekdays. Meanwhile, the cheapest ticket to Nha Trang costs from 3.3 million VND, with bad flight times; better flight times cost 6.5 million VND, double the round-trip price on weekdays - around 3 million VND.

The high price of airfares to major domestic tourist destinations has made many travel companies less interested in selling domestic airfare products. Hoang Viet Travel does not sell domestic airfare tours because it understands that domestic tourists during Tet want to travel nearby, avoiding traveling by plane due to peak season and high costs. Deputy Director Luu Thi Thu said the company only focuses on road products, currently booking about 10% in advance but is expected to be filled 20 days before Tet due to affordable prices.

Ms. Tran Phuong Linh, Marketing Director - BenThanh Tourist Company, commented that the increase in airfares has made domestic tours during Lunar New Year 20% more expensive than usual but not much different from the same period last year. For example, tours from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc cost from 8-9 million VND, and tours to the North cost from 12-14 million VND.

The company has cut 50% of domestic flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the North, including Ha Long, Ha Giang, and the Northwest region, due to high airfares; service costs, infrastructure, and transportation were affected after Typhoon Yagi. Tours to the Central region, such as Da Nang, Quy Nhon, and Nha Trang, have remained stable in terms of product quantity.

Some other travel agencies said that Tet airfares doubled compared to normal days, hindering domestic tourism and possibly causing customers to prioritize going abroad. In early November, Viet Travel, Vietluxtour, and Vietravel said that Tet tours to Thailand, China, South Korea, and some distant markets were attracting Vietnamese customers to book early, with tour prices stable compared to the same period last year.

The expected 9-day Tet holiday affects the travel trends of customers. BenThanh Tourist recorded that customers spent a lot of money on high-priced tours but with different experiences, for example, Europe, Australia, South Africa, Egypt or Turkey. Many foreign tours departing on the 2nd day of Tet currently have an occupancy rate of over 60%. Best Price recorded that the registration rate for foreign Tet tours currently accounts for 80%, mainly focusing on Asian markets such as China, Korea, Japan or Singapore.

"Domestic tour prices are the same as foreign tours, so customers will choose foreign tours more," said Ms. Linh, adding that the occupancy rate for domestic tours is currently only 30%, and that purchasing power is expected to increase near Tet.