Lunar New Year: The number of Vietnamese people choosing to travel during Tet has increased sharply.

Many resorts are fully booked during Tet holiday

This year's Tet, Vietnamese people's travel demand has increased sharply compared to last year, however, due to restrictions on going abroad, most tourists choose to travel domestically, and most of them are to high-end resorts.

In the North, Topas Ecolodge Resort (Sa Pa) was fully booked on the 3rd and 4th nights of Tet; on the 1st and 2nd nights, the occupancy rate was 50-70% and expected to be sold out soon. Explaining this demand, Mr. Tran Thanh Thuy, Vice President of the Sa Pa Tourism Association, said that last year many hotels in Sa Pa were liquidated and closed due to lack of supply during this holiday, so the rooms were quickly booked out.

In Hoa Binh, Avana Retreat resort was 100% booked on the 3rd and 4th days of Tet and all high-class rooms were booked for the remaining days, with only a few lower-class rooms remaining. The occupancy rate for all holidays was over 70% at Serena Resort Kim Boi. Many high-class rooms at several 5-star resorts in Ha Long (Quang Ninh) and Thanh Hoa were also fully booked with prices reduced to about 40-50% compared to before.

In Hue, Alba Wellness by Fusion resort and onsen still had many vacant rooms for Tet until the end of December, but now it is impossible to book rooms on online booking applications such as Agoda. Similarly, the Tet tourism and resort market is also extremely vibrant in the Southern region, especially famous destinations such as Hoi An, Da Lat, Phu Quoc, Ho Chi Minh City... On booking platforms Agoda, Booking, many hotels and resorts have announced that they are fully booked on the first days of the year.

"Although the situation seems quiet, in fact, the number of reservations for the traditional Tet holiday at hotels and resorts across Vietnam is increasing day by day, some places are almost full a few days after Tet" - Mr. Tuan Anh, representative of Balcony Media in Vietnam (a group specializing in communication activities for high-end hotels) shared. "Many people living in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City do not return to their hometowns for Tet, so their demand for travel before and after Tet is also very high".

Mr. Tuan Anh said that at Alma Resort Cam Ranh (Khanh Hoa), the number of bookings currently accounts for more than 70% of the total rooms for sale and is still increasing rapidly, the resort plans to operate at full capacity. At Azerai Can Tho resort, the number of available rooms for the days from the 3rd day of Tet is very small. Most high-end hotels and resorts haveentertainment or promotional programsfor Tet holiday; some places also require guests to book 2 nights or more during peak days such as the 3rd and 4th day of Tet.

Start the year with a "Travel to heal" trip

Because safety is the top priority, tourists during this Tet holiday tend to choose trips to green areas, with good disease control, tourism focusing on relaxation, beauty and health care. This is also the reason why many hotels and tourist areas are constantly promoting health care services for both physical and mental health for tourists such as spa, yoga, meditation or nature sightseeing trips.

In Quang Binh - the "green paradise" of Vietnam, incentives of up to 50% have also been introduced, applied throughout the province andextended until the end of 2022.

After a long period of turmoil, confusion and only going out when necessary, many people also choose to travel during Tet with the hope of dispelling the worries of the old year and spending that precious time to find peace with their loved ones, before entering a new cycle.

"This Tet, my family and I plan to travel to Phu Quoc for three days and two nights," said Bui Bich Thao, a university student. "My family doesn't travel often, but due to the pandemic, the cost of services such as flights, accommodation, etc. are being greatly reduced, so my family decided to go."

"I'm also busy and don't have much time to be with my parents, so having the opportunity to travel with my family makes me very happy and excited," Bich Thao added. Although the epidemic situation is still tense, the whole family has been fully vaccinated with three doses, so you can rest assured.

The "sold out" situation shows that the trend of Vietnamese people getting ready for trips during Tet is becoming more and more popular, but there are still worries and hesitations among some people when it comes to traveling.

Asked about her worries about traveling during Tet, Ms. Nguyen Kim Cuc (born in 1989, living in Hanoi), a travel "fanatic", confided: "Being assured or not assured depends on each person's thinking. In my personal opinion, if you are afraid, you will not be able to go anywhere, and we should also think about being flexible in living with the epidemic, always comply with Covid-19 prevention regulations when traveling."

The ideal time to start new experiences

Many young people also choose to pack their backpacks and start their Tet trips, not to find a place to relax, but to seek new experiences, in the "new normal" period.

Unlike many people, travel blogger Bui Viet Ha started her 2022 journey early with a 20-day trip to the mountainous regions of the North. Ms. Ha said that after the trip ends, she will return home to celebrate Tet with her family.

Also one of the people who are excitedly preparing for the first trip of the new year, Ngoc Vy (born in 1995, living in Hanoi) shared: "It is 'thanks' to the epidemic that my Tet holiday plan this year has changed for the first time, unlike every year. The lockdowns in 2021 have given me more time at home, to be closer to my family, so I think staying at home during Tet 2022 will be quite... formal. Instead, I choose to travel alone from the first day of Tet, to get 'luck' for new lessons, a new start of a new year".

"Vietnam in particular and the world in general, after more than two years of turmoil due to the pandemic, have changed a lot. Obviously, 2022 will be the ideal time for us to start new journeys - not only to travel, relax, and sightsee, but also to observe how life and people around us have changed. I can't wait to see all those new things."

Khanh Ha