Airfares increase on many routes
This summer, Ms. Ngan Giang's family (32 years old, Hanoi) plans to take their children on a beach trip to "relax" after stressful working and studying days.
Searching online for flights from Hanoi to Da Nang at the end of May and in July-July, Ms. Giang was "startled" when she discovered that the round-trip price ranged from 3.2 - 3.7 million VND/person, especially more expensive on weekends.
Airfares for round trips from Hanoi - Nha Trang during the summer are also high at 4.7 - 5.4 million VND/person, Hanoi - Phu Quoc is the lowest at 4.3 - 4.8 million VND/person.
Thus, for a family of 4, Ms. Giang has to spend about 13-20 million VND just for sewing ticket costs. With such a large amount of money, her family has to consider choosing closer places such as Cat Ba beach, Quang Ninh or Thanh Hoa... or taking trains or buses to save costs.
Not only the domestic tourism market, according to the American Tourism Association, airfares in March 2026 increased by 14.9% compared to the same period last year.
The main reason comes from the conflict in Iran, so the price of aviation fuel has increased by more than 100%.
Crude oil shortages put pressure on oil refineries. GasBuddy expert Patrick De Haan said that aviation fuel is often the first product to be affected because it has a lower proportion than gasoline and diesel. Oil refineries currently prioritize producing gasoline and diesel for freight and agricultural transportation.
As a result, many airlines are forced to cut thousands of flights, while air travel costs are expected to continue to escalate in this summer tourism season.
Mr. Tran Xuan Trong - Founder of Lavia Travel Company assessed that summer airfares this year tend to increase, especially for sea tourism routes, weekend flights and on good hours.
Our records show that airfares and travel input costs this year increased by about 10-20% during the peak season. This directly affects customers' travel choices and decisions. Airfares currently account for about 50% of the tour price, so when airlines fluctuate, customers will immediately reconsider their budget and change their travel plans," Mr. Trong said.
Customers prioritize nearby tours, businesses optimize experiences
Despite the increase in airfares, according to records from travel businesses, summer travel demand this year is still quite vibrant, especially in families, business customers and young people.
Mr. Tran Xuan Trong said that the number of summer customers this year of the business increased by about 20% compared to the same period last year, especially in sea tours and short-day resort tours.
Customers currently tend to book earlier to keep beautiful seats and optimize costs. However, instead of prioritizing long trips as before, many families are now switching to short trips or choosing closer destinations to reduce travel costs. Northern sea resort tours such as Ha Long, Cat Ba, Sam Son are attracting quite a lot of customer interest," Mr. Trong shared.
According to Mr. Trong, the summer tourism trend this year still focuses strongly on sea resorts, but tourists are currently more interested in relaxing experiences, healing, exploring local culture or team building programs.
Customers today not only ask where to go beautifully or what the price is, but also focus on service quality, whether the itinerary is suitable for young children and the elderly, whether the experience is comfortable and how businesses support it if flight schedule changes arise. This shows that customers are tending to travel more realistically and meticulously," Mr. Trong said.
Agreeing with this view, Mr. Bui Thanh Tu - Marketing Director of BestPrice Travel Company said that the increase in airfares makes customer psychology more cautious. Many tourists tend to compare costs carefully, choose shorter tours or fly during off-peak hours to optimize the budget.
Regarding the international market, Mr. Tu informed that nearby destinations such as China, Thailand, Singapore - Malaysia, South Korea or Japan still maintain their attractiveness thanks to convenient routes and easy-to-control costs.
In the current context, travel businesses focus more on improving product quality instead of competing with cheap tours.
Responding to the cautious psychology of tourists, businesses must advise more transparently about ticket prices, peak season surcharges as well as refund conditions so that customers are assured when booking tours," Mr. Tu shared.
Before the peak tourist season, travel businesses have also proactively worked early with airlines, hotels and local partners to maintain stable prices for routes with high demand in the summer.
