Tet tours see surge in bookings

Most tourist companies have said that several people plan to travel domestically and overseas during the Tet (Lunar New Year).
Nearly all domestic tours with flights from February 4-6, or January 2-4 in the lunar calendar, have been booked in advance. Schedules to Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and Con Dao are highly booked.
Similarly, tourist companies have stopped bookings for tours to Singapore, Thailand, China, Korea and Japan. They now expect that many people will book road tours, which depart from February 7.
Nguyen Van My, director of Lua Viet Travel Company, said that this year Singapore has become the ‘hot’ foreign tourist destination, instead of Thailand. After a short period of growth, people wanting to visit Cambodia, is slightly reduced.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, PR manager of Fiditour Tan Dinh Travel Company, said that the number of people purchasing tickets to travel abroad, is higher than compared to the same period last year.
Fiditour is hoping to receive about 15,000 visitors during the coming Tet holidays, 30 percent up from last year’s same period. They said that 40 percent of the visitors would travel abroad, a 20 percent increase to that of 2010.
Meanwhile, the leading tour operator in Vietnam Saigontourist said 2,500 people have booked tours to travel abroad. The company is expected to see a 20 percent increase in the number of people traveling this Tet, as compared with the previous.
More new domestic tours
The domestic tourism in three recent years has seen a high growth. In 2010, the number of people traveling domestically was over 27 million visitors. The toll is forecast to rise to 31 million this year.
Travel companies have diversified many tours in order to attract more tourists. Many of them have introduced several new and original touring ideas.
Specifically, The He Tre Travel Company is providing a special tour to discover famous tourist destinations, in the northeastern region, over six days and nights.
The journey begins at Dong Van stone plateau; leading through Lung Cu, Ma Pi Leng Mountain pass, Gam River, Na Hang, Nang River and finally finishing at Ba Be Lake.
Tran The Dung, the company director, said that the tour will cut short the distance to travel between the Ba Be Lake in Bac Kan Province, and Dong Van stone plateau in Ha Giang Province, as the two places are be connected by the Gam and Nang rivers. This tour has attracted 70 customers, within one month of its opening.
This tour will depart on February 10, with the package price of VND10.5 million per person, including the cost of the flight.
Welcoming the New Year’s Eve at remote islands is also a desirable location chosen by many travelers.
Fiditour said it would provide a three-day tour to Phu Quoc Island by plane, which departs on January 27, or December 30 of the lunar calendar. The total cost is VND4.5 million per person.
In the meantime, the Saigontourist announced a three-day trip, priced at VND1.7 million, to greet the Lunar New Year, in the Central Highlands. Travelers will depart on February 4 and February 6.