Travel close to home
Ms. Bich Phuong (30 years old, Hanoi) shared: “The vacation time is short and traveling is difficult, so my family decided not to go back to our hometown or travel far, saving money so that we can enjoy the 9-day Lunar New Year holiday. My husband and I plan to take our children around the city and enjoy a relaxing day off.”
Like Ms. Phuong, many families and groups of friends also choose simple vacations close to home during the 2025 New Year. Most tourists travel independently for a day or 2 days and 1 night, to destinations in the city or neighboring provinces.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu - General Director of Vitamin Tours & Event - said that the demand for travel of Vietnamese tourists during the New Year holiday is not high. In addition, the sharp increase in domestic airfares has made many people hesitate. For example, airfares from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi or Da Nang are expensive, some domestic flights have round-trip airfares of up to 7 million VND/person.
“The long Lunar New Year holiday is less than a month away, so many people choose to stay home during the New Year to save money,” said Mr. Hieu.
For a short day break, guests in Hanoi can visit historical and cultural sites such as the Temple of Literature, Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hoan Kiem Lake... If they want to go to the suburbs, destinations such as Ba Vi, Duong Lam ancient village, Bat Trang pottery village... are ideal choices.
In the Central region, Mr. Hieu suggests that tourists can relax at My Khe beach, explore Ba Na Hills, visit Hoi An ancient town for the day or participate in fun and entertainment activities organized to celebrate New Year's Day right in big cities such as Da Nang, Hue, Quy Nhon, Dong Hoi...
In the South, destinations such as Da Lat, Vung Tau, Can Gio... are about 1-2 hours away from Ho Chi Minh City, very suitable for day trips.
According to Mr. Hieu, because of short-term travel, families and groups of friends often travel independently, booking hotel tickets, entertainment venues, and dining. However, the demand for long-distance travel during the Lunar New Year 2025 will really explode.
Lunar New Year tourism forecast to boom
According to Booking.com, Da Lat, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc are the three most searched domestic destinations this Tet holiday season. Of these, Da Lat continues to lead the list of most popular domestic destinations with a 300% increase in searches compared to last year.
Next are Nha Trang and Phu Quoc with growth rates of 200% and 180% respectively. Major cities such as Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi... are also popular choices for many tourists thanks to their rich history, vibrant culture and rich cuisine.
75% of Vietnamese tourists said they want to explore destinations during the cooler times of the day, the above domestic tourist destinations are the perfect combination of relaxation and adventure activities.
The international destinations that Vietnamese tourists are most interested in during their 9-day vacation include Bangkok, Phuket and Chiangmai (Thailand), Tokyo (Japan), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Seoul (Korea), Ubud (Indonesia), Dubai (UAE) and Hong Kong (China).
“This Tet holiday, Vietnamese travelers are rewriting their travel guides. They tend to combine familiar, popular destinations with more novel destinations,” said Varun Grover, Country Manager of Booking.com in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pham Van Bay - Deputy Director of Vietravel Hanoi branch commented that the foreign tourism market during Tet holiday attracted more tourists than the same period last year. "Customers tend to choose foreign tours during this time because the weather is nice, the destinations are not too crowded, and the service is less stressful than during the peak summer season. Tour prices are also more stable than domestic tourism," said Mr. Bay.
On the other hand, taking advantage of the long holiday, the trend of going abroad is also on the rise. Asian countries such as China, Korea, Japan to longer trips to Dubai (UAE), Europe, the demand for international tourism is expected to peak during the Lunar New Year.
Due to the increased demand for bookings, airfares, hotel rooms, and services also increase during Tet, so tour prices increase by 30-50% depending on the location. However, many long-term tours such as Korea, Japan, or European tours need to close visas early, the number of customers booked is quite large, and some tours are fully booked.
Ignoring the New Year, many travel businesses expect Vietnam's tourism industry to boom during the Lunar New Year holiday in 2025.
