Sightseeing tours organized for students during the holiday. Photo: Duc Quang
Trends in travel can be divided into two types: those who do administrative work usually choose to travel on holiday, whereas self-employed people or retirees often choose to travel on weekdays to avoid the overload of tourists or to “hunt” promotion prices.
"The airfares before or after the holiday will be cheaper than those during the holiday. The price of travel services does not fluctuate, saving lots of expenses, so I travel with my husband before the holidays, "said Thanh Xuan (a tourist from Hanoi).
This year’s holiday season of April 30 and May 1 lasts for 4 days on end (from April 28 - May 1) is ideal for many companies, families to organize short domestic and international trips. Tourist market becomes progressively diversified with many options because many short-term tours are a big advantage for holiday travel. However, the prevailing opinion is that travel plans, if made late, will lead to higher tour prices or sold-out tour tickets.
Mr. Tran Dinh Minh Duc, Head of Travel Management Division, Department of Tourism, said: "The holiday of April 30 and May 1 this year almost coincides with Hue Festival 2018 and is the starting point for the new tourism season that continues until September. Thanks to heritage tourism, sea-island tourism, community tourism like "Thuy Bieu morning - Tam Giang afternoon" and Hue Festival in particular, the number of visitors to Hue is growing fast.”
Ms. Pham Nguyen Thi Van Hang, Head of Vietravel Customer Service Department in Hue, shared that the company has popular domestic itineraries such as Phu Quoc Island, Ly Son Island, Nha Trang, and Da Lat. In addition, delegations from other places to Hue shot up from April 27 to May 2 mostly with a stay of around 4 days and 3 nights.
The holiday of April 30 and May 1 coincides with Hue Festival 2018, so the number of tourists to Hue is expected to rise. Photo: Duc Quang
Dai Bang (Eagle)Tourism Company designs a large number of community and ecotourism tours during the holiday of April 30 and May 1 such as Sunset on Tam Giang Lagoon or Hue - Lang Co - Ngoc Island Tour with the activities of swimming, snorkeling, or games of catching snails, shooting fish and so on. Eco- tours in the province are priced quite attractively at VND 480 - 850 thousand per person. Domestic tours such as Hue - Ba Na, Hue - Cu Lao Cham, Hue - Ly Son Island, Hue - Da Lat and so on range between VND 1.55 and 3.99 million per person.
In parallel with the domestic tours, this year travel companies "do not forget" to renovate their international tour products because Vietnamese tourists’ demand for travel abroad in recent years has risen quite sharply.
According to Ms. Pham Nguyen Thi Van Hang, 4-day and 3-night or 5-day and 4-night international package tours are suitable for holidays mainly in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and expanded to some Northeast Asian countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Japan. The number of tourists to Korea and Taiwan especially increased year on year.
Tourists choose these destinations on account of the cultural similarities and the lower price than European travel. Also, tourists can go on short-term tours due to closer geographical distance, and combine traveling, shopping and sightseeing.
Along with tours organized by travel companies, self-guided tours of groups, families are mushrooming. Some parents and schools plan to organize sightseeing tours to link entertainment with education for children over the holiday.
Minh Quan's five-member group (Phu Nhuan Ward, Hue City) plans to go backpacking to explore the nature in Nam Dong District. They said they will explore the Mo (Dream) Stream, the Kazan Waterfall and grand primeval forests, and enjoy fresh air in the scorching summer.
According to Mr. Tran Dinh Minh Duc, tourists should take safety precautions when joining in fun activities in streams, lagoons, and sea. Especially at the sites along the boundary with Laos in Districts of Phu Loc, Nam Dong, A Luoi, tourists need to work with the local authorities to be guided.
By Phuoc Ly