Tourism is heating up as the National Day holiday on September 2nd approaches.

Along with family tours, travel agencies continue to focus on day tours of Hanoi, which are being offered by many companies with diverse products. Some examples include Hanoitourist's "Thang Long Heritage Journey - Hanoi Past and Present," and Saigontourist's "Hanoi City Tour." Tours combining exploration of Hanoi's unique heritage, culture, and traditional cuisine have all received positive feedback from customers.

Tran Linh Phuong, General Director of Vietnam Express Tour (VNE), shared that to serve the travel needs during the upcoming September 2nd holiday, the company has prepared many attractive tours to meet the demands of tourists. Regarding domestic tours, the company offers programs visiting famous destinations such as Da Nang, Hoi An, Phu Quoc, Da Lat, and Sapa.

In reality, at this time, not only are short-term domestic tours in high demand, but international tours are also experiencing similar trends. Recently, Booking.com, one of the leading global companies in the digital travel sector, revealed that the most sought-after international destinations for Vietnamese tourists during the upcoming National Day holiday are primarily those geographically close to Vietnam, making short-term tours seem more popular.

Accordingly, the top 10 most searched international destinations are all located in the Asia-Pacific region. Bangkok (Thailand) is the most searched city, followed by other vibrant cultural centers in Asia, including Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Sydney, Bali, and Chiang Mai. These are all destinations that Vietnamese tourists prioritize considering for their upcoming long holiday.

Furthermore, China is also a popular destination for many Vietnamese tourists during the September 2nd holiday. Surveys show that most traditional China tours on the market are priced under 20 million VND. Some tours, such as Hanoi - Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La, departing during the holiday and traveling by train, cost less than 14 million VND, while tours by air start from 17 million VND depending on the airline. Other popular tours, such as Fenghuang Ancient Town, range from 12 million VND.

Due to the high demand for travel, tourism businesses are currently operating at near full capacity. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of BestPrice Travel Company, said that the demand for travel during the holiday season is quite high, and BestPrice has already reached 60-70% of its initial target.

Similarly, Nguyen Tien Dat, General Director of AZA Travel, said that the number of customers booking short-term tours for the September 2nd holiday has already reached 70% of the planned target. “Due to the high demand, from August 15th to 20th, the company will close bookings and stop accepting orders for overseas tours. For domestic tours, the company mainly sells combo packages; if there are still services available, we will continue to sell them to customers who need them,” Mr. Dat informed.

Businesses are increasing promotions.

Whether tour prices will increase during the National Day holiday is always a concern for tourists. Regarding this issue, Pham Anh Vu, a representative of Vietnam Tourism Media Joint Stock Company, stated that although airfares during the September 2nd holiday are still higher than usual, package tour prices are unlikely to increase because customers mainly choose nearby destinations that can be reached by car.

"The price of tours by car has not increased compared to the same period last year. These tours are not too far, easy to travel on, helping tourists save time and enhance their relaxing experience. To stimulate tourist demand, we are still maintaining promotions," Mr. Vu informed.

To stimulate tourism during the late summer and maintain market momentum until the September 2nd holiday, many travel agencies such as Vietravel, BenThanh Tourist, Vietluxtour, etc., are currently offering attractive promotions and discounts of up to 10% for tour hunters. For example, Saigontourist Travel Agency is launching a "Grand Appreciation Feast" event with 4,900 discounted domestic and international tours, directly offered to individual or group travelers. In addition, they are offering tours at a flat rate of 2.49 million VND for 4-day trips to Nha Trang and Da Lat; and tours to Central Vietnam (4-5 days) and Northern Vietnam (5 days) at a flat rate of 4.949 million VND, including Vietnam Airlines airfare…

It's not just tourism businesses offering promotions and discounts; hotels nationwide are also entering a discount season. According to the Vietnam Hotel Association, many 3- to 5-star hotels in Phu Quoc have reduced prices by approximately 30% compared to the peak season of June and July.

For example, Wyndham Grand Phu Quoc Hotel is offering a "stay 3 nights, pay for 2" promotion for customers flying at night (from 9 PM to 1 AM). Similarly, in Da Nang, prices at many 4-star hotels have started to drop by about 40% compared to the peak summer season; hotels in Cat Ba will reduce prices by about 30% after August 15th until the end of the year.

Although tourism businesses did not increase tour prices during the National Day holiday on September 2nd, experts believe that in the long term, attracting tourists requires decisive action from authorities to urge businesses to reduce airfare and service prices to stimulate tourism demand, thereby contributing to sustainable revenue growth for the entire industry.