International visitors to Hue on New Year's Day 2019 (Photo: Archive)

Short-day tours are selected

According to travel agencies, people only have one day off for this year's New Year holiday, so most visitors choose short-day tours to destinations mainly in the central region.

Having just registered the tour at Eagle Tourism Joint Stock Company, Mr. Tran Viet Trung (Kim Long Ward, Hue City) said that at first his family planned to have a longer trip because they have missed their summer vacation. But due to the short holiday in the middle of the week, he chose to visit Quang Binh with his family for 1 day.

The Provincial Tourism Association advises, with only a short time to travel, visitors should choose nearby destinations and suitable resorts for easy transportation. The 1-day tours to discover and explore Bach Ma and A Luoi are increased in number. The city tour in Hue has also some new destinations which may be suitable for tourists when coming to Hue on New Year's Day.

Mr. Vu Van Chuong, Director of Vietnam Pride Tourism Co., Ltd - Hue Branch said that on the occasion of holidays, New Year, traffic is often crowded and more difficult. For a complete and safe outing, travellers need to do research in advance about the destinations, and bring along adequate supplies and medicines. Due to the short holiday time, many young travellers will choose to go on a trip, so they also need to consider the weather to have safe trips as they have to return to work in the following day.

On the morning of January 1, 2020, Hue tourism industry will welcome the first guests to Hue by air (In the photo: Welcoming guests to Hue by air in 2019)

Ms. Le Tuan Hang, Vietravel Tourism Company, said that in addition to the short-day domestic tours selected by many customers in the province, there are high discounts on tours abroad, from 10-20% for the 3 - 5 day tours to attract tourists. These include tours to Thailand with a normal price of 7 million VND, now reduced to about 5.6 million; or tour to Japan with the price of 24 million VND, discounted from 28 million VND. The reason is that charter flights departing from Da Nang on the occasion of New Year holiday fetching a quite reasonable price.

Destination selected for Tet holiday

The Department of Tourism forecasts that the number of tourists coming to Hue during the New Year holiday this year will increase by 10-15% compared to last year. The forecast says that hotel rooms will be fully booked, especially hotels from 3-5 stars. Therefore, the department has issued a written request to tourism businesses to publicly list service prices and sell them at posted prices, without arbitrarily changing prices of services. The department has also requested businesses to strictly comply with regulations on ensuring security, order and food safety, and preventing and controlling epidemics. Trading and serving foods and drinks of unknown origin or low quality are strictly prohibited.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism said that in recent days the movie "Dreamy eyes" has created a "fever". The film was released at the end of the year, so in the upcoming New Year holiday, the destinations chosen as the film setting will surely attract many visitors. To be more active, the tourism industry has collaborated with a number of tour operators to survey, build a number of tour routes, combining some additional services and village products to serve customers.

In recent days, many tourists have "flocked to" the lonely tree from the scene in the movie “Dreamy eyes” to take pictures 

The Provincial Tourism Association reported that many travel agencies in Hue have launched products related to the movie "Dreamy eyes" to sell to customers. In particular, the lonely tree in Quang Phu is the most popular because of the convenience of connecting with Bao La weaving village, experiencing life on Tam Giang lagoon in Con Toc, visiting Ru Cha.

According to Mr. Vu Van Chuong, many guests in Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Da Nang have chosen Hue in general and movie spots in particular to visit and discover on the New Year holiday.

In addition to the film "Dreamy Eyes", activities to celebrate the New Year are also organized by businesses, and Hue Monuments Conservation Center will recreate the cannon shooting ceremony to greet the New Year.

Ms. Huynh Tieu Phuong, DMZ Travel Company, said that this year, DMZ will organize a vibrant party with a countdown event, with the presence of DJs, dancers, fun games and etc., to bring a vibrant atmosphere to international visitors to Hue.

In addition to the restaurants and hotels that organize the New Year's Eve program, on the night of December 31, 2019, a music program is held right at the intersection of Hung Vuong Street, promising to create a fun and exciting atmosphere for tourists when coming to Hue at the right time to enter the New Year 2020.

Story and photos: Duc Quang