|
Many tourist destinations have not faced any overload or sharp price hikes during the National Day holiday (September 2) this year.
Passengers collect luggage at Cam Ranh International Airport
in Khanh Hoa Province.
In certain areas, the number of tourists has picked up, but slightly. Some tour operators have even recorded a decline in tourist numbers on this occasion, and one of the main reasons is that people are cutting spending on travel.
According to several travel firms in HCMC, hotels in key tourist attractions such as Nha Trang and Dalat were often full in previous years. However, right before and even during the holiday this year, tourists could still book rooms on arrival in Nha Trang and Dalat.
A few days before the holiday, the tourism promotion center of Khanh Hoa Province said the average occupancy of one-star hotels was about 40%, two-star hotels 55%, and 3-to-5-star hotels 60%. During the holiday, more rooms are booked, but occupancy is not as high as in the previous occasions.
Similarly, in Dalat, hotels are not as crowded as in the previous years. A group of overseas Vietnamese traveling from Nha Trang to Dalat on Sunday happily said they could book rooms in this hilly resort town with prices a little higher than on normal days.
On the other hand, the numbers of visitors to Binh Thuan and Da Nang on this occasion are still high.
A representative of the Binh Thuan tourism authority said resorts in Mui Ne and Phan Thiet were fully booked and the hotels achieved high occupancy as many holidaymakers came to the province to attend the first Vietnam International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.
The Binh Thuan Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism estimated from last Wednesday to Monday, around 180,000 tourists would come to Ham Tien-Mui Ne, Phan Thiet City, and Hon Rom camp site, including 61,000 international visitors.
Although hotels and resorts at some destinations are still fully occupied, travel agencies report lower-than-expected results in this holiday season. Many large tour operators offered discounts and kept prices of certain tours unchanged, but bookings inched up insignificantly.
As for small travel firms, tourists does not increase. Some companies in HCMC and Hanoi even recorded a drop in tourist numbers.
Saigontourist Travel Service Company said it had launched more than 100 domestic and outbound tours since early August. Most of these are short tours, lasting two to five days, meeting the vacation needs of customers.
Still, bookings are up by 8% against last year with a total of over 10,000 travelers during the National Day holiday. On holidays, the number of tourists served by Saigontourist often grows 10-15% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, Tran The Dung, deputy director of the The He Tre Travel Company, said the company’s business performance was not good this holiday. The number of its customers is down 40% compared to last year.
For fear of loss, the company did not arrange tours for individuals so that it could focus on group tours. “But the situation is not good either, with the number of tourists down significantly,” Dung said.
|