Tour prices to jump ahead of lunar new year

The price of Tet or Lunar New Year tours are set to jump by up to 10 percent, forecast tour operators.
The operators attribute the prospective increases to growing demand and likely higher transport and accommodation costs.
The length of the break - seven days - and the arrival of overseas Vietnamese and international visitors are the major reasons for higher price, explained Vietravel Communication Department director Nguyen Minh Man.
"Customers for the 2011 Lunar New Year - from February 1 - will increase by 30 percent," Man said.
"High demand will see accommodation and transport costs soar, so tour prices will jump by 7-10 percent", he added.
A representative of the Lua Viet Tours Company agreed that tour prices will increase by Tet holiday because of higher air travel costs.
The company says the prices for air tickets out of Vietnam have increased between 50 USD and 150 USD.
Despite higher costs, tour operators are trying to keep prices down.
"More expensive air tickets are beyond our control. However, we've still managed to keep our tour prices low to avoid sudden changes in price," said Man.
Outbound tours to Hong Kong (China), mainland China, the Republic of Korea and Japan remain favourite destinations.
Tours to neighbouring countries remain popular due to their price of just 10 million VND (476 USD). Moreover, these tours have not been affected by the dong's devaluation, said Director of Lua Viet Travel Company Nguyen Van My.
The Vietnam Railway Corporation is set to increase its prices by 20-25 percent on peak days over the Lunar New Year Festival.