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IfPreviously, tourists on tours were only familiar with traditional routes exploring the land and people of each country. Now, however, in tourism advertisements, each season features several routes introducing destinations associated with flowers and flower festivals. Domestically, there are the buckwheat flower season in Ha Giang, the white mustard flower season in Moc Chau, plum and peach blossoms along the Northwest routes, and the Da Lat flower festival.
Around the world, there are cherry blossom festivals in Japan, South Korea, and the United States, and tulip festivals in the Netherlands and Canada, which have become quite familiar to many Vietnamese tourists. In addition, there are the Chelsea Flower Festival in the UK, the Florida Flower Festival in Australia, lavender farms and paradises in France and Japan, and sunflower fields in Italy and Tibet…
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Thegreat greatAccording to Vietravel Tourism Company, "seasonal flower tourism has been implemented by the company for more than 5 years, being one of the pioneers in connecting and promoting seasonal tours featuring cherry blossoms, tulips, etc. The choice of this form of tourism aims to bring added value – a euphoric experience for customers – because flowers, as symbols of beauty, always beautify life and each trip."
”To implement this type of tourism, companies typically need at least three months of preparation before the flower season or festival takes place: booking accommodations, airline tickets, festival entrance tickets, negotiating price stability, monitoring the official festival dates and themes, and conducting communication activities to provide information to tourists.
Furthermore, for domestic tours, the company prioritizes the selection of transportation and drivers to ensure the safety and convenience of tourists, as the routes in the East, West, and North of Vietnam often have narrow roads and many curves.
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"Up to this point, there have been more thanDozens of tour groups have registered for cherry blossom and tulip tours atVietravel Hanoi plans to open more tours in the near future to see jacaranda blossoms in South Africa, Chelsea flowers in England, etc., offering customers more beautiful and diverse flower viewing destinations.”
TourismFlower seasons bring added value to both travel companies and tourists, but this does not mean there are no difficulties and obstacles in organizing trips. These include the need to provide information early and promptly to customers who need it, as each flower season usually lasts for a very short time.Late registration or failure to complete visa procedures means many tourists may have to wait until the following year's flower season. Weather is also a crucial and difficult-to-control factor in organizing flower-viewing tours. Just a sudden rain shower or unusually hot or cold weather can greatly affect the flower-viewing plans of groups.
Talking to some customersSaigontourist has been registering for tours to the flower festival this March and April, and the Tourism Club's reporting team has received many interesting comments. An elderly gentleman shared: "Two years ago, I happened to have the opportunity to visit the tulip festival at Keukenhof, and once I went there..."And I was truly going from one surprise to another.
Not only because of the spacious, flower-filled grounds, but also because the artisans were incredibly skillful in arranging flowers to recreate familiar images of Russia such as St. Basil's Cathedral, Matryoshka dolls, the Swan Lake ballet, and even images of rural fields... (the theme that year was "From Russia with Love"). This year, I tried to wait until April to register for the trip to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France to coincide with the event. The staff told me that this year's theme is about the Netherlands, so it will surely be even more interesting.”
When they hear usWhen the topic of seasonal flower tourism came up, a few familiar tourists happily added, "If I tell you, everyone will say, 'Are you crazy?' But just because of cherry blossoms, my husband and I have traveled to three countries—Japan, South Korea, and the United States—to see them... Perhaps it's because I truly love this flower, and partly because I travel to see that the same flower has different characteristic colors, different petal sizes, and different ways of appreciating it in each country."While the Japanese enjoy spreading out blankets under cherry blossom trees to eat and chat, Koreans prefer cycling or walking along flower-lined paths, and Americans enjoy strolling in parks while appreciating outdoor art performances.
Through interviews with young people, the reporters learned that, “In Vietnam, young people enjoy traveling to see buckwheat flowers in Ha Giang and white mustard flowers in Moc Chau; abroad, they like to see lavender flowers in Sapporo, Japan. Each type of flower has its own unique beauty, but it must be acknowledged that other countries are much more professional than us in terms of scale and plant care to ensure the flowers bloom at the right time and simultaneously. It truly is a flower paradise, with vast fields of flowers stretching to the horizon, and it's easier to get to than the destinations in the North that I've visited, so it feels more suitable for older people.”
It is clear that investing in characteristic flower species is a wise policy adopted by countries around the world, contributing to both economic and tourism development while beautifying their homeland. Examples include the success of the Netherlands with tulips, France with lavender, Japan with cherry blossoms, and the United Kingdom with Chelsea flowers. Attending these flower festivals also easily reveals the attention and focus of national leaders on attracting tourists and developing these events.
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While the Chelsea Flower Festival always features the presence of the Queen and the Prince of England, and the Keukenhof Tulip Festival annually invites heads of state from various countries to attend… In addition, some countries such as the United States, Canada, and South Korea, although not the birthplace of any of the aforementioned flowers, have also successfully organized similar flower festivals when they received the seeds as gifts.The love of beauty is human nature, so traveling during the seasons of blooming flowers and autumn foliage will undoubtedly become a more distinct and attractive trend in the future. It could even be possible to follow the fruiting seasons, like the grape season in Tuscany, Italy, which is proving quite successful.Through our research, we learned that major travel brands such as Saigontourist, Vietravel, Benthanhtourist, Tsttourist, and Fiditour currently have longer-term strategies and offer almost a full range of tours focusing on famous seasonal flowers around the world.
