Tourism enters peak season

The tourism sector has now entered its peak season of the year, beginning this month and lasting until April next year. International arrivals to Vietnam are on the rise, and travel agencies and hotels in the country are bracing themseves for serving large numbers of tourists, the local media reported.
Many four-to-five-star hotels in HCMC are reportedly working hard in preparation for peak season.
In particular, they have organized various activities to serve tourists, especially expats, including providing diverse cuisines, improving amenities and offering gifts for customers booking venues for conventions or weddings, according to Vu Thi Thanh Hien, sales and marketing director at the Grand Hotel, whose occupancy has reached at least 86%.
As for cuisine, the hotel has introduced special dishes from various regions across Vietnam so that tourists can learn more about the culinary culture of each locality, Hien said.
Le Tan Thanh, an executive at the Continental Hotel, said that given the bookings, the hotel occupancy level from this month to March next year averages out at 96%, sometimes up to 100%, adding that the average length of stay is two to three days. The Continental, the oldest hotel in the country, will focus on enhancing its room quality and promoting Vietnamese cuisine, said Thanh.
Meanwhile, many leaders of local tourism agencies have pinned their hopes on the upcoming rise in foreign visitors flocking to Vietnam.
During the year up to September, Saigontourist Travel Service Company welcomed over 310,000 international arrivals, up 2% year-on-year. Notably, international cruise ship travel services alone brought in more than 280,000 foreign tourists for the firm, up 3% versus the same period last year.
Doan Thi Thanh Tra, marketing and communications director at Saigontourist, said the firm not only places emphasis on service and manpower quality but also establishes partnertships with foreign agencies to diversify the overseas tourist sources for the country. The company annually joins over 20 tourism trade fairs and international tourism roadshows in key markets, including Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin in Germany, Cruise Shipping Miami in the United States and IFTM Top Resa in France.
Many travel firms in the country serving international tourists also confirmed that they continually improve their services, and develop new markets as well as traditional source markets, including North America, Western Europe and Southeast Asia to better serve tourists. Simultaneously, they have stepped up their efforts to expand business networks to potential tourism markets such as Eastern and Central Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean region..