Price increase, diverse itineraries
Currently, many localities, travel agencies and accommodation establishments have launched Tet programs to attract tourists. Meanwhile, tourists also book services in advance to avoid crowds and enjoy discounts. Phuong Anh (30 years old, office worker in Ho Chi Minh City) has just booked a round-trip flight ticket to Hanoi for Tet for 5.6 million VND. She said that even though she booked the ticket on a different date and quite far from the Tet holiday, the price was still twice as expensive as usual. Due to the long holiday, Phuong Anh and her family took the opportunity to travel for a change of atmosphere.
"My family plans to go to Ha Giang to see spring flowers, and my sister also booked a tour to China with her friends to experience the Lunar New Year atmosphere abroad," she said.
According to Lao Dong, currently, ticket prices for some popular routes such as Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City, or from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat... during Tet are all one and a half times, up to twice as expensive as usual. For example, the Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang route during Tet holiday has the cheapest round-trip airfare from 4.8 million VND, the most expensive up to 7.7 million VND. The ticket price is twice as expensive as the common level of 1.7 - 3.5 million VND.
Mr. Bui Thanh Tu - Marketing Director of BestPrice - commented that airfares for the Lunar New Year 2025 will remain high, with an increase of 10% to 15% compared to Tet 2024. The peak period is from the 2nd to the 6th of Tet, when people start traveling and return. "Hot" flights departing from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to famous tourist destinations continue to record significant price increases.
Forecasting a slight increase in airfares and service prices during Tet, travel agencies have proactively prepared tickets and services since early July to have the best tour and combo prices for tourists.
“The number of domestic tourism products traveling by plane during Tet 2025 is expected to increase slightly by about 20% compared to the same period last year, despite airfares still being a significant obstacle. This trend is mainly driven by increased tourism demand due to the long Lunar New Year holiday,” said Mr. Tu.
Business representatives assessed that with the current situation, tourists still consider the cost of airfares a lot. “The current trend is that customers look for products that combine package deals, hunt for promotional packages from airlines or travel businesses, plan early and reserve seats in advance to enjoy good prices or switch to closer locations to save costs,” Mr. Bui Thanh Tu assessed.
On average, tours in the Northern provinces range from 11-12.5 million VND, tours in the Central region cost about 9-10 million VND, and tours in the Western region have the "softest" prices from about 1-5 million VND.
International tours to nearby destinations such as China, Korea, Japan have competitive prices from 9.9 to 10.9 million VND. Far destinations such as Europe, America, Australia have attractive discounts for early bookings.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, Business and Event Manager of Vivu Journeys, predicted: “With the New Year holiday close to the Lunar New Year, we predict that customers will tend to choose short domestic trips to fit the holiday schedule. Meanwhile, for the Lunar New Year, the demand for long-term travel, especially international tours, is likely to increase as tourists want to take advantage of the extended holiday.”
Expect a winning start
Mr. Pham Van Bay - Deputy Director of Vietravel Hanoi Branch - assessed that this is also an opportunity for travel, transportation, accommodation companies... to start a vibrant business year, developing diverse and unique tourism products.
Sharing the same view, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong - Business and Event Manager of Vivu Journeys - expects: "The number of visitors will increase compared to last year thanks to the long holiday. In particular, international tourism demand is forecasted to recover and grow strongly, especially with countries near Vietnam".
The company predicts that domestic tours to famous natural destinations such as Hoi An, Sa Pa, Da Lat, Can Tho, Phu Quoc... as well as international tours to Thailand, Korea and Japan will attract great interest from tourists.
“The trend in early 2025 shows that tourists increasingly prefer destinations close to nature and less crowded, wanting a vacation that brings a sense of novelty and complete relaxation,” said Mr. Bui Thanh Tu.
Vietjet resumed flights from Da Nang to Da Lat, Phu Quoc and Can Tho to Da Lat from early November 2024. Bamboo Airways opened a direct flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok (Thailand) from late November, while Vietnam Airlines launched a flight from Hanoi to Phnom Penh (Cambodia) from late October.
From January 14, 2025 to February 12, 2025, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam requires units to proactively arrange resources, coordinate with airlines and units operating at airports to deploy night flight operations from 00:00 to 24:00 every day (local time) at Tho Xuan, Dong Hoi, Chu Lai, Phu Cat, Pleiku and Tuy Hoa airports. At the same time, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam will monitor the situation of seat reservations and airfares on domestic routes to promptly direct airlines to supplement capacity on routes with high demand, meeting the needs of passengers during the peak period of the Lunar New Year 2025.
