Planning to fly to Hanoi to watch the September 2nd parade but not being able to arrange a schedule until early August, Ms. Linh Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City was surprised when the price of air tickets and room rates increased but she still could not book. "Air tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi are twice as expensive as usual, booking rooms at 3-4 hotels but there are no rooms in good locations available", she sadly accepted to stay at a small hotel far from Ba Dinh Square - where the official parade and march will be held.
The central area is almost full.
This year, Hanoi is the focus of the whole country when on September 2nd there will be a large-scale military parade, fireworks display at 5 locations and a series of cultural activities to celebrate the 80th anniversary of National Day. The attraction of the event has caused hotels in the Old Quarter and around Hoan Kiem Lake to quickly be "sold out".
The parade to celebrate the 80th anniversary of National Day attracts tourists from all over the country to Hanoi.
In the high-end segment, many hotels located in "golden" locations, near Ba Dinh Square or on parade routes, recorded high room booking rates.
Wil'que Hotel is the first Hybrid hotel (a combination of private rooms and public facilities) in Hanoi, located on Cua Bac Street - the street that Parade Block 6 will pass through on September 2. Hotel representatives said that the number of room reservations for September 2 increased by about 40-50% compared to July and August. Guests started asking to book rooms right after the April 30-May 1 period and recently, the rate of room reservations through social media channels has started to increase dramatically.
With a convenient location to watch the parade, Wil'que Hotel on Cua Bac Street has seen a sudden increase in room bookings on September 2nd.
Boasting panoramic views of tree-lined Thanh Nien Street, as well as West Lake and Truc Bach Lake, Pan Pacific Hanoi is one of the prime locations for the upcoming A80 event.
A representative of Pan Pacific Hanoi Hotel said that currently, the room occupancy rate on September 1-2 is about 73%, the number of rooms with lake view is not much left. The number of guests started to increase from the beginning of August and continues to show signs of increasing until now. Compared to September 2 last year, the number of guests increased by about 30-40%, mainly guests from Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces looking for a short vacation in Hanoi.
"Compared to the April 30-May 1 holiday this year, the number of guests on September 2 also increased significantly, reflecting the strong recovery of domestic tourism. With the current booking rate, we expect the occupancy rate to reach 90-95%, equivalent to the peak festival seasons of the year," said a representative of Pan Pacific Hanoi Hotel.
Panoramic view and lake view room space of Pan Pacific Hanoi hotel
According to the survey, by mid-August (August 14, 2025), the number of room bookings for the National Day holiday at Meliá Hanoi Hotel increased by about 6% compared to the same period in 2024 and is expected to continue to increase in the weeks leading up to the event thanks to the trend of booking close to the A80 event date. The trend of booking close to the date is also consistent with the regional picture, when many reports recorded a shortened booking window and accelerated event-based tourism.
With four days off, the number of people flocking to the center to watch the parade and fireworks increased many times, leaving hotels in the core area almost full. Only hotels a few kilometers away from the center still had vacancies.
Prices increased by 30-50%, affordable homestays are also scarce
Many 3-4 star hotels in the Old Quarter and around Hoan Kiem Lake have increased their prices by 30-50% compared to normal days. A 3 star hotel in Hoan Kiem, which used to cost around 700,000 VND/night, has now increased to 1.5 million VND; a 4 star hotel in the same area also jumped from 760,000 VND to over 2 million VND/night on the evening of September 1.
Not only hotels, homestays and accommodation services priced under 450,000 VND/night, which attract customers because of their beautiful locations and reasonable prices, are almost fully booked for all 3 nights of the holiday. Some guests are flexible in choosing to stay in neighboring districts to get a "softer" price and avoid the crowded scene.
The large number of tourists pouring in has caused many hotels in the center of Hanoi to be "full" since the beginning of August.
Hanoi still attracts tourists despite rising costs
According to the Hanoi Department of Tourism, since May, the number of room bookings for September 2 has increased by 30-40% compared to the same period in 2024. In the first 7 months of the year, the number of visitors to the capital reached nearly 18.4 million. Total tourism revenue is estimated at 73 trillion VND, up nearly 15% over the same period last year. Not only has the number of tourists increased, but the accommodation system in Hanoi has also exploded with the number of searches for accommodation during National Day increasing more than 44 times compared to last year on a hotel booking platform.
According to Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu - Marketing and Communications Director of Vietluxtour Travel, the number of customers in the South booking tours and services to Hanoi on September 2 increased by 40% compared to the same period last year, of which 60% booked package tours. This strong attraction comes from the echoes of the A50 event (celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and national reunification) and the early promotion of the A80 event (celebrating the 80th anniversary of National Day).
Not only Vietnamese customers, this year Vietluxtour also recorded a large number of international customers from Australia, Korea and Europe booking connecting tours from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi during the holidays. "The increase rate is about 25-30% compared to the same period last year," said Ms. Thu.
Ba Dinh Square, where the parade will take place on September 2nd
Disperse the number of customers, reduce pressure on the central area
Facing the risk of overload on central streets, the Hanoi Tourism Association has recommended that tour operators expand their itineraries to less stressful destinations: the Military History Museum, the Museum of Ethnology, Duong Lam ancient village, Bat Trang pottery village, Ba Vi tourist area, Van Phuc silk village, etc. International exhibitions in Dong Anh or large-scale entertainment areas are also suggested to disperse the number of visitors.
At the same time, Hanoi has built many tours and routes launched since July to serve tourists coming to the capital on the occasion of September 2nd, such as the "South Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Road" tour, the Dao people's leaf bath tour in Ba Vi village, and rural agricultural tourism in Tich Loc commune. In addition, Hanoi also has 20 night tourism products, including the Tran Vu Bell program at Quan Thanh temple, new creative spaces such as Truc Bach Subsidized Street, Electric Train No. 6 - Heritage Leng keng to reduce pressure on tourists in the inner city area.
Tours and tourist routes to the outskirts of Hanoi and neighboring provinces are being promoted to reduce pressure on inner-city areas.
Despite the increase in airfares and hotel room prices, the situation of “sold out” rooms still appears, proving the special attraction of Hanoi during the 80th National Day. The capital is still an unmissable destination, where historical moments and festive atmosphere blend into an unforgettable experience.
