Giving holidays instead of traditional gifts on March 8th
With only a few days left until International Women's Day March 8th, Ms. Minh Anh (30 years old, Hanoi) has completed booking a villa (villa in the suburbs) with a private swimming pool at a resort in Hoa Binh from mid-February.
This year, I checked the schedule early and knew that March 8th falls on the weekend, so my family prioritized choosing a resort near Hanoi for convenient travel, and to be able to return to work at the beginning of the week. Therefore, I want to give my mother a different gift, instead of flowers or cosmetics. The whole family will go on a two-day one-night vacation for my mother to relax," Ms. Minh Anh shared.
Similarly, Mr. Hoang Nam (42 years old, Hanoi) also said that he had booked a room at a resort in the suburbs of Hanoi for a vacation from September 7th. 3.
According to Mr. Nam, the price difference is not too much compared to normal days, ranging from about 1 - 3 million VND/night depending on room class and booking time, but by the end of the day, many beautiful room classes have run out.
I prioritize resorts with spas and romantic dinner packages to surprise my wife on this special day," Mr. Nam said.
Not only couples, many families and groups of friends also choose short-day travel to celebrate special occasions. This trend contributes to making destinations near large cities become bustling, even though it is not the traditional tourist peak season.
Experts explain holiday travel trends
According to Mr. Bui Thanh Tu - Marketing Director of BestPrice Travel Company, the 8th of March this year recorded early booking signals compared to the same period last year, especially at resorts along Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Room occupancy in many 4-5 star resorts for the weekend of September 7th has reached 80-95% quite early, in which private villa or private pool rooms are usually sold out first," Mr. Tu said.
According to Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, there are three main reasons leading to this situation.
''Firstly, March 8 falls on the weekend, which is favorable for short vacations. Secondly, the trend of "celebration travel" - travel as a form of celebration - is increasing strongly. Instead of giving simple gifts, many families or couples choose a vacation as a meaningful experience gift,'' said a travel expert.
And the third reason, after the Tet peak period, tourists tend to travel closer, prioritizing high-quality resorts but not spending much travel time.
If previously customers often booked close to the date, now many people have actively booked 2-3 weeks in advance to keep beautiful rooms and good prices. The resort segment integrating spa, wellness experiences or with a package including resort - dinner - health care is being prioritized for selection," Mr. Tu shared.
In addition, Mr. Tu also gave recommendations for people to have a short but complete vacation of joy: "Everyone should plan early, be flexible about the date of departure if possible to optimize costs and avoid running out of beautiful rooms. At the same time, tourists need to carefully read the cancellation policy because peak seasons often apply quite strict conditions.
