Vietnamese tourists are no longer as enthusiastic about traveling during Tet 2023.

The 2023 Lunar New Year holiday is expected to be a period of strong growth for the tourism market as the COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control in Vietnam and many other countries. Governments are also easing entry procedures to help stimulate tourism demand.

Since October 2022, travel agencies have developed and introduced many tourism products for the Lunar New Year with competitive prices and frequent departures, hoping for a 30-40% higher number of tourists during the 2023 Lunar New Year than last year. Although the Lunar New Year tourism market has started to warm up day by day, the number of bookings for Lunar New Year tours this year is somewhat more promising than for the Gregorian New Year. However, according to travel agencies, the purchasing power of tourists compared to the period before the COVID-19 pandemic (2019, 2020) has not yet reached the expected level.

Despite the approaching Lunar New Year, tourists remain indifferent.

Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Director of Marketing and Communications at Saigontourist Travel Service Co., Ltd., stated that Saigontourist expects to serve over 40,000 customers nationwide during the Lunar New Year holiday. Despite starting tour sales quite early, the number of bookings has only reached over 60% of the target so far.

Speaking to Travellive, Mr. Hieu Tran, currently the reservation manager at Mercure Dalat Resort, said: "The booking situation at hotels in popular tourist destinations like Dalat remains stable. At Mercure Dalat Resort, the number of bookings and requests has reached over 70% of room capacity."

However, the situation of hotels being fully booked before Tet (Lunar New Year) like in previous years has not yet occurred. In fact, according to Thanh Nien newspaper, many hotels and resorts in Da Nang and Quang Nam experienced low booking rates for the New Year holiday this year, with some places below 50% occupancy.

Where does the cause come from?

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, commented: "Tour prices this year are quite high, increasing by 25-30%, mainly due to airfare. International flights have not fully recovered, the number of flights is low, and many people are traveling independently, so some routes and services are scarce, driving prices up."

Furthermore, after a year of spectacular growth in domestic tourism, people no longer have a "revenge travel" mentality after the pandemic. According to Ms. Anh Hoa, customer travel behavior and habits have changed considerably. Before the pandemic, tourists usually traveled during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year). After the pandemic, tourists tend to spread their travel throughout the year and focus more on experiential elements.

Furthermore, the trend for Tet holiday travel predicted to become popular in 2023 is short trips. People prioritize nearby destinations. Several domestic destinations such as Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Sapa, Da Lat, Ha Giang, etc., remain popular during the end of the year. This is a suitable option for tourists who want short trips during the holiday, while still being able to spend part of their holiday celebrating Tet with family at home.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Diep Anh (29 years old), currently the owner of a restaurant in Hanoi, shared: "Previously, my family always used Tet (Lunar New Year) to travel to Central or Southern Vietnam because of the long holiday. After the pandemic, I've also taken advantage of the opportunity to travel quite a lot, so I no longer prioritize long trips during Tet. Instead, I prefer to spend my time resting at home with my family."

Efforts to stimulate tourism

Currently, Tan Son Nhat airport terminal can only handle a maximum of approximately 3,600 passengers per hour (2,000 passengers in Hall A, 1,600 passengers in Hall E). Increasing the number of flights would lead to congestion. Therefore, the Civil Aviation Authority is limiting the maximum number of takeoffs and landings per hour at this airport to 42.

Airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, and Vietravel Airlines have increased the frequency of the main Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route to 3 round-trip flights per day (a 200% increase) to provide passengers with more choices in flight times and ticket prices. The airlines are also continuing to work with aviation authorities to increase the frequency of flights on other routes.

In addition, businesses are still striving to keep tour prices stable despite the continuous increase in the USD exchange rate. Outbound tourism businesses face many challenges as they have to balance tour prices and adjust profits in the hope that the Lunar New Year 2023 period will bring more opportunities for the tourism industry to recover and achieve breakthrough development.

Positive signals from the overseas tourism market.

The market for overseas tours during the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday is more vibrant and diverse as many countries around the world reopen for tourism or ease COVID-19 restrictions. For overseas tours, travelers prioritize destinations close to Vietnam due to their open entry policies and affordable costs, such as Thailand, Singapore, and combined Singapore-Malaysia tours.

Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Director of Marketing at Vietravel, said: "The market for Lunar New Year 2023 tours is heating up every day, with very high demand for overseas travel. This spring, tourists can choose to travel along the beautiful Fukushima route in Japan, with thousands of cherry blossom trees in full bloom, on charter flights."

According to Ms. Khanh, some tour packages to Northeast Asia, such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, remain attractive due to relatively short flight times. Short-day tours to warm climates, priced around 50 million VND, are also popular. For example, tours to Dubai and Australia have been fully booked by some tour operators in these markets 1-2 months in advance.

Yen Nhi