A representative from the Vietravel Hanoi branch revealed that the number of tourists booking foreign tours during Tet has doubled compared to domestic tours. Indeed, trips to Europe, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan, Thailand, and Singapore are all nearly fully booked.

Specifically, nearly 11,000 holidaymakers have registered for foreign tours, doubling the number of visitors choosing domestic tours, said Vietravel Hanoi.

The rise in the number of outbound tours can largely be attributed to escalating domestic airfares during Tet, which are up about 15% to 30% compared to last year, especially for flights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, that eventually fueled tour prices, according to industry insiders.

Bui Thanh Tu, marketing director of BestPrice Travel, revealed that two thirds of the firm’s customers have booked tours abroad, with Taiwan (China), the RoK, Japan, Thailand, Australia, and Europe emerging as popular destinations, while only one third have registered for domestic tours.

Tran Thi Bao Thu, communications director of Vietluxtour Travel Company, pointed out that the outbound tourism market has become vibrant with popular tours to Southeast Asian destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, as well as Northeast Asian countries like Taiwan (China), Japan, the RoK, and China

Experts said the inbound tourism market is also expected to thrive moving forward thanks to effective promotional activities which have taken place in the past year coupled with favourable new visa policies.

Furthermore, many Vietnamese destinations such as Ba Na Hills, Hoi An Ancient Town, Sa Pa, Phu Quoc, and Ha Long Bay have all continued earning international recognition recently.