Hanoi may lack hotel rooms during 1000th celebration

Only after two weeks of searching, Vietsky Travel could find enough hotel rooms for its group of 100 tourists from HCM City who will arrive in Hanoi on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.
Dao Hong Thuong, Deputy Director of Vietsky Travel, revealed the group will stay in three 3-star hotels when they are in Hanoi and that room rates have increased by 10-15 percent over ordinary days.
“Travel firms are now hurrying to deposit money to book rooms. Most of the hotels in the inner city have been fully booked for the days of the great festival. We dare not accept more clients, because we are afraid we cannot book hotel rooms,” Thuong said.
Vu Huu Hieu, the director of three Old Quarter hotels, including Rising Dragon Hotel on Hang Be Street, confirmed that the company’s rooms are booked for the entire period of the celebration. He is already working to accommodate guests who cannot find a vacancy for their October dates.
According to travel firms, the 1000th Thang Long-Hanoi anniversary is attracting a lot of foreign and domestic travelers, which is causing a room shortage. Viet Tourism is trying to seek rooms for its 300 tourists. Director Tran Long noted that a group of 600 tourists from HCM City plans to fly to Hanoi on the evening of October 1. However, the firm has just found accommodations for 300 of them, but not the other half.
Since late 2009, the travel firm began preparing for tourists on the occasion of the1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi. It booked air tickets and hotel rooms for 3000 travelers and brought 70 tour guides from the south to Hanoi. Long estimated that nearly 3000 clients have booked tours during the celebration, and they expect another 1000.
“We have even tried to contact hotels on the edge of town like ones on Tran Duy Hung Road and in Ha Dong district. However, all hotels have been fully booked on these days, especially October 1,” Long remarked.
What also worries most travel firms now is that some vehicles will be not allowed to enter central areas like the Old Quarter on these dates. Long commented that most of the hotels his firm has booked are located in Hoan Kiem and Ba Dinh districts, which is where big vehicles will be prohibited. If travel firms know which roads will be closed, they can arrange small buses to carry tourists to hotels and set up suitable excursion schedules. However, relevant authorities have not yet released this information.
“We cannot let foreign tourists to walk many kilometers on Hanoi’s cramped streets. We should prioritize tourists by allowing buses to go in and out of the central areas,” Dao Hong Thuong from Vietsky Travel noted upon hearing that all 24+ seat vehicles will be prohibited from October 7-10.
Representatives of some travel firms will warn tourists about potential problems, but they also agree that this will be a golden opportunity to enjoy the landscapes of the capital city in autumn.
There are now 880 hotels and guesthouses in Hanoi that can provide 17,000 rooms, including nine 5-star hotels, six 4-star and 25 3-star hotels. According to VnExpress, the number of rooms will be just enough to meet the demand of the estimated 40,000 travelers who will arrive in the capital city.
Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has affirmed that many hotels still have rooms for travelers, especially 3-star hotels that serve domestic travelers. However, these locations have just 30-40 rooms in total, so tourists will have to stay in hotels in small groups.
According to the department, the city will receive a projected 700,000-800,000 tourists, both domestic and foreign. Department leaders have advised people to come to Hanoi after the celebration to avoid gridlock. After the anniversary, Hanoi will still “have on a new coat” and it will be very suitable for tourists to enjoy the city at that time as well.