A bustling atmosphere of booking traditional tours was recorded at travel firms on January 15.
According to Saigontourist Holding Company (Saigontourist), Vietravel Corporation, and TST Tourist, tours departing from HCMC to Long An, Cao Lanh, Sa Dec in Dong Thap Province, the Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine – Minh Sang Plaza in Binh Duong Province, Tan Trieu Pomelo Village in Dong Nai Province attract many visitors.
One-day and 2-day 1-night tours will start to receive tourists from January 25. This year, BenThanh Tourist offers many short trips to Sa Dec Flower Village, Lai Vung Kumquat Gardens, and Phuoc Kien Pagoda in Dong Thap Province, and Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh Province. Visitors are very interested in enjoying the Tet atmosphere in the countryside, Ms. Tran Phuong Linh, Marketing and Communication Director of Ben Thanh Tourist Company said.
Overseas trips to Thailand, Japan, South Korea, China, and Australia have also drawn a lot of travelers.
Airfare prices are too high, domestic tourism becomes less competitive compared to international tourism.
Nguyen Van Ngoc, a resident of HCMC’s District 3 said that he chose a trip to Thailand or Singapore-Malaysia tour for VND11-13 million instead of domestic tours from HCMC to localities in the northern region including Sapa, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Moc Chau costing VND13 million per person, or to Ha Giang, Lung Cu, Dong Van, Meo Vac priced VND10-13 million per person.
The Saigon Railway Transport JSC announced that the Saigon Railway Station averagely received around 4,600 passengers per day during Tet holidays.
The company provided additional train tickets departing from HCMC to Di An, Bien Hoa, Quang Ngai, and Hanoi to meet the increasing travel demand during the Lunar New Year.
Coach stations in the city serve about 71,000 passengers per day, equivalent to 3,030 trips.
Mien Tay (Western) Bus Station will serve passengers from January 31 to February 19. The peak time will fall on February 6-8 (the 27th day to the 19th day of the last month of the lunar calendar). During the Tet holidays, the number of vehicles is expected to increase by seven percent while the number of passengers will increase by 29 percent compared to the same period.
Mien Dong (Eastern) Bus Station will serve passengers within 20 days before and after Tet and offer trips to provinces and cities in the northern region from January 20.
Deputy Director of Mien Dong (Eastern) Bus Station Nguyen Lam Hai said that the functional departments have recently handled illicit bus stations.
The station expects to receive 87,000 passengers in 10 days before Tet and accounts for 118 percent within 20 days before and after Tet compared to the same period last year.
The old Mien Dong (Eastern) Bus Station expects to see an increase of 110 percent in the number of travelers compared to the same period last year.
In An Suong and Nga Tu Ga bus stations, the peak time will fall on February 2- 7(the 23rd day to the 28th day of the last month of the lunar calendar).
In addition, Tan Son Nhat International Airport plans to receive about 900 flights and 140,000 passengers. The peak period will fall from January 26 to February 24.
