Tourism flourishes during Tet holiday

Tourists visit the Royal Palace at Hue Citadel in Thua Thien-Hue Province. ­­—VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hung

HCM CITY — More local and foreign tourists have taken inbound and outbound tours during the Tet (Lunar New Year) 2011 holiday compared to previous years.

The number of foreign visitors arriving in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue reached 50,000, mostly from Europe, Japan and Thailand, an increase of about 20,000 over previous years.

Local officials said that numerous cultural festivals held in Hue during Tet had attracted a large number of visitors. They said the festival was a harbinger for many other cultural events to be held in the province this year in order to welcome the National Tourism Year set to be celebrated in 2012.

All historical relics in Hue remained open to visitors free of charge from February 3-5 (Jan 1 – 3 on the lunar calendar).

Da Lat welcomed roughly 75,000 tourists during this Tet holiday, with most hotels and guesthouses in the Central Highland city reporting 80 per cent occupancy.

In Ha Noi, about 1,000 passengers on 109 international flights arrived at the Noi Bai International Airport from February 3 – 5, mostly European tourists and Viet kieu (Vietnamese overseas) from many countries, according to the airport's Customs Department.

Besides, about 8,000 passengers on 82 flights departed from the airport to other countries during the holiday.

The first international flight carrying 184 tourist passengers from Hong Kong arrived at the Da Nang International Airport on the second day of Tet.

They came on a 5-day tour offering relaxing stays at high-end resorts and hotels, as well as visits to many tourist sites like the Son Tra Peninsula, Ngu Hanh Son Mountain and many world heritage sites in Hue and Hoi An Town.

The Sebourn Pride carrying 200 passengers from the UK, France, Germany, and the US also arrived at the Tien Sa Port in Da Nang on the second day of Tet.

Meanwhile, thousands of tourists flocked to Kim Lien historical site in the eponymous commune, Nam Dan District, in the central province of Nghe An, which is late President Ho Chi Minh's home village.

The site's management board mobilised more staff to offer better services during Tet because of the increase in number of visitors during the festive season.

The site, which has normal working hours of 7:30am till 5pm, was opened even earlier until late in the night to serve a large number of visitors on the first and second days of Tet, the board said.

Travel firms do well

The surge in Tet festival tourism saw HCM City-based Viettravel company serve 18,000 – 20,000 customers, a soar of 40 per cent over the same period last year.

Viettravel mobilised an unprecedented 300 tourist guides to serve customers during this Tet holiday.

Meanwhile, Saigontourist Company in HCM City attracted 10,000 customers to join 130 domestic tours, an increase of 40 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Saigontourist also welcomed and served 9,000 foreign tourists on this occasion. — VNS

Related Articles

• Traffic accidents kill 288 during Tet
• Bus stations grapple with post-holiday passenger rush
• HCMC to relay grand sale program to November
• Ho Chi Minh City bookworms rummage festival
• Local tour operators honored in Thailand

Longest Tet break creates the perfect holiday season

by Ha Nguyen

Pristine beach: Hon Thom on Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang attracts thousands of tourists a year. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vu. Spring season: Visitors enjoy colourful flowers on a bank of Xuan Huong Lake in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Ha

Viet Nam's first eight day Tet ( Lunar New Year) holiday has created favourable conditions for local and overseas Vietnamese to enjoy the longest Tet, starting on February 3.

An increasing number of well-off Vietnamese have chosen to celebrate Tet abroad. That trend is expected to continue this Lunar New Year.

Popular destinations abroad at this time of year when the weather is cool or cold in much of the country are Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong – where the weather is more inviting. Meanwhile, those with relations abroad often take the opportunity afforded by the long annual holiday to visit family and friends in the US, Australia and Europe.

My Hanh, who works for a foreign firm in Viet Nam, said her four-member family plans to enjoy Tet in Thailand.

"My two daughters and I are shopping addicts so we are very much looking forward to going to Thailand. We plan to spend all day and night shopping during our four days in the country," Hanh said, adding that celebrating Tet abroad offers a welcome escape from domestic chores.

Hanh said that when she celebrates Tet here in Ha Noi she has to spend days shopping for food in overcrowded markets.

"I have to work very hard and it's exhausting. This Tet will be different. Apart from being able to shop for clothes, I will have time to relax and read books, which I adore doing," she said.

She said "I've already asked my mother-in-law to help me prepare traditional dishes to worship our ancestors for the last evening of the old lunar year and the first day of the new year," Hanh said.

Meanwhile, Hoang Quan, who lives in Ha Noi's Tu Liem District, has booked a holiday in Japan where his daughter is studying.

"I had to book a five-day tour to Tokyo at the start of this month to be sure of being able to get tickets in the run-up to Tet," Quan said.

"My wife is a pagoda goer so it's a good chance for her to explore and see how things differ in Japan," Quan said.

Despite being relatively well off, he still worries about hefty shopping bills.

"It doesn't matter. We will spend our time shopping at the Japanese yen 100-per-item shops."

Duong Quang Phong and his family from Los Angeles plan to return to Viet Nam for Tet.

Phong said he had already booked a seven-day tour to Phu Quoc Island beginning on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

"Our six-member family will celebrate Tet on the island by ordering banh chung (square sticky rice cake) and many other traditional specialities such as nem ran (fried meat roll), dua hanh (pickled welsh onion) and canh mang (bamboo shoots cooked with pig's trotters). We've rarely tasted these dishes since we settled in the US in the 80s.

"Spring tours over Tet will be more comfortable and interesting because tourism sites will not be as crowded as during the peak season in summer. The cool weather in the south will make our tour more enjoyable. We are looking forward to exploring the island's natural beauty, as well as relaxing," Phong said.

Like Phong, other overseas Vietnamese plan to return to Viet Nam for the holiday. Most have booked tours to popular destinations such as Ha Long Bay, Sa Pa, Ninh Binh, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Hue, and Hoi An, said Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy director of Ha Noi Redtour.

"Despite the fact that prices are 5-10 per cent more this Tet compared with last year, almost of our tours have been fully booked," he said.

To meet increasing Tet demand, Viettravel, Fiditour and Ben Thanh Tourist have put on extra tours from the 28th and 29th of the 12th lunar month until the 4th of Lunar New Year.

Saigontourist is expecting 15,000 visitors, an increase of 15 per cent compared with last year, a company manager said.

But Hoan warned that holiday-makers should be wary of unlicensed tour operators. He said they were typically 20-25 per cent cheaper than those offered by mainstream operators, but that standards were suspect.

"Some of them have even tried to ‘resell' their customers to other tour operators for a profit," Hoan said.

Last year, the country's tourism sector welcomed 5 million foreign travellers and 28 million local guests. — VNS

Related Articles

• Long Tet break creates the perfect holiday season
• Cancer-causing agent found in food, seasoning
• More buses to run during Tet holiday
• Congressional delegates discuss recommendations, draft reports
• Wozniacki cruises to win at Montreal Cup