Vietnamese travelers show preference for Asian cities on New Year’s Eve

The world's leading accommodation reservation site had crunched booking data for December 31 to identify the 10 most popular destinations to ring in the New Year. Three of them were Asian tourist hotspots Bangkok (3rd), Singapore (6th) and Taiwan's Taipei City (9th). The remaining seven were all Vietnamese destinations.

Citizens of ASEAN member nations can travel within the bloc without a visa and stay for 30 days, except Myanmar (14 days). Vietnamese citizens can apply for Taiwanese visas online and visa fees are waived.

Travel industry insiders said growing affluence has spurred Vietnamese to spend more on foreign jaunts.

It is estimated that they spend $7-8 billion per year overseas, Vu The Binh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said, adding "overseas travel by Vietnamese is a growing trend."

A 2017 World Bank report said the country was seeing an increasing number of people, estimated at 1.5 million each year, joining the ranks of the middle and upper classes.

Global real estate consultant Knight Frank earlier this year said the number of extremely rich individuals in Vietnam is set to grow at the fastest rate in the world: by 31 percent in the next five years.

Vietnam had 12,327 millionaires in 2018, up 5 percent from the previous year, Knight Frank said.

According to Mastercard, Vietnam has the second fastest growing outbound market in the Asia Pacific region after Myanmar, with projected annual growth of 9.5 percent between 2016 and 2021. The firm has forecast that some 7.5 million Vietnamese travelers will venture outside the country in 2021.

Ho Chi Minh City is the most popular destination for Vietnamese travelers for New Year’s Eve, thanks to its eye-catching fireworks, Agoda said.

The 15-minute fireworks are set off at the Landmark 81 building in Binh Thanh District, Thu Thiem Tunnel that links Districts 1 and 2 and Dam Sen Park in District 11 at midnight on December 31.

Phuc Yen, an emerging eco-tourism destination in the north, was second in the list.

The rest of the top 10 were major tourist destinations in Vietnam, including Hanoi (4th), Da Nang (5th), Phu Quoc Island (7th), Nha Trang (8th), and Vung Tau, a popular beach town in southern Vietnam.

Phu Quoc Island in Kien Giang Province is one of top beach destinations in Vietnam. Photo by Shutterstock/Hoa My.

A year-end trend report Google released last week said beach getaways Nha Trang, Vung Tau and Quy Nhon were among the most sought-after destinations by Vietnamese searchers in 2019.