Tourists hesitate to choose tourist destinations at the last minute
Ms. Le Thi Thanh Huyen (Hanoi) plans to spend the Tet holiday taking her family to travel to the Central region. Initially, she leaned towards a resort tour in Da Nang - Hoi An, where there is pleasant weather, package services, suitable for families with young children. However, when referring to more local Tet experience tours in Hue and Quang Binh, she hesitated.
I want my children to feel the Tet atmosphere in other regions, to go to Tet markets, wrap cakes, watch village festivals... However, because the family has young children, we prioritize choosing light resort tours with schedules that are not too dense, and destinations that are easy to move around," Ms. Thanh shared.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Ngoc Tu (Hung Yen) is considering tourist destinations in the northern mountainous region such as Sa Pa, Ha Giang or Moc Chau. For him, Tet is not only a gathering but also an opportunity to "change winds", find new experiences.
However, booking tours close to the date makes him wonder about the price and service quality. "I like the cold air, mountain scenery and Tet culture of the highland people, but booking at the last minute, many places have run out of beautiful rooms, room rates and travel services are much higher than usual," Mr. Tu said.
Mr. Bui Thanh Tu - Marketing Director of BestPrice Travel Company - said that instead of choosing domestic tours, many tourists book combo air and hotel tickets for the Lunar New Year. However, the closer to Tet, the fewer rooms the business has left, and many places have run out.
This Tet holiday, customers tend to spend more heavily on items that create differences in the experience of good hotel areas, beautiful flight times, and private services. Most tourists have planned to book tours early to receive good prices and incentives according to the Early Bird package. Customers who book at the last minute often run out of hotel rooms and beautiful flight times, and also have to bear higher prices" - Mr. Tu said.
The Lunar New Year holiday is forecast to be extremely vibrant
According to data compiled from the online travel platform Traveloka, the demand for trips to Hanoi during the Lunar New Year increased about 1.8 times compared to December, showing that the Capital continues to be a priority destination for many tourists thanks to its advantages in cultural activities, traditional festivals and typical Tet atmosphere.
At the same time, familiar destinations such as Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang City, Da Lat and Phu Quoc recorded search volumes increasing more than 2 times, Nha Trang increased 3 times compared to the previous month. The results reflect the stable attractiveness of localities that can simultaneously meet the needs of sightseeing, relaxation and entertainment.
Mr. Phung Xuan Khanh, CEO of Tien Phong Travel, said that tours, air ticket and hotel combo packages to Phu Yen, Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Phu Quoc... during the Lunar New Year of the business have run out early. Many Northern tourist destinations have also run out of places.
To serve more needs of tourists at the last minute, we proactively open more tours, room comboes and road tickets to Moc Chau, Sa Pa, Bac Son, Ninh Binh... but the number is not large. Therefore, we still recommend that tourists should finalize tour bookings early to ensure service," Mr. Khanh said.
At the end of the year, travel businesses all operate at full capacity to coordinate with destinations to welcome tourists. For the 2026 Lunar New Year holiday, BestPrice aims to welcome an increase in the number of visitors by 20-25%, Vietravel increase by 15-20%, Tien Phong Travel increase by 25%... compared to the same period last year.
Proactively coordinating with tourism businesses, localities have early and fully prepared from accommodation services, rooms to entertainment products to be ready to welcome guests during Tet. Typically, Da Nang coastal city organizes a series of cultural - festival events with traditional Tet colors such as: Spring Fair 2026, An Hai Folk Tet Festival, Traditional Tet Space, Tet Market - Welcoming Spring Horses, Vietnamese Tet 2026... Not only sightseeing, visitors can also directly participate in banh chung wrapping, asking for calligraphy from Ong Do, folk games, traditional art performances... organized in many different spaces throughout the holiday.
Meanwhile, Phu Quoc has over 95% of hotels and rooms fully booked, signaling an extremely vibrant Lunar New Year holiday. The Special Zone coordinates with functional sectors, the Tourism Association, and relevant business units to implement many diverse activities to serve tourists, including the 2026 Spring welcoming art program with the theme Phu Quoc opening festival to welcome the new Spring - Shining Pearl Island and the Party and Spring celebration sports festival, Spring flower market 2026 in Duong Dong and An Thoi... In particular, visitors here will admire mãn nhãn fireworks displays on New Year's Eve.
