Top travel destinations expect less crowding on holiday weekend

By Tu Nguyen April 26, 2023 | 04:00 pm PT

Tourists take a cyclo ride along Tran Phu Street in Nha Trang Town. Photo by Trung Huynh

While Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang are expected to be less overcrowded during the long holiday break this weekend, a number of luxury resorts near Hanoi and HCMC are fully booked.

Cao Tri Dung, chairman of Da Nang Tourism Association, said the occupancy rate at beachside accommodation facilities during the holidays was around 70-80% while it was only 50% in the downtown area.

"The low occupancy rate was due to skyrocketing airfares and incomplete recovery from Chinese tourists, the city’s second biggest source of tourists before the pandemic," he said.

Data from travel platform Mustgo, which partners with 2,000 hotels across the country, showed most accommodation facilities in Nha Trang during the holidays were 50-60% full so far.

Both Nha Trang and Da Nang have a large supply of rooms.

Da Nang has more than 1,200 hotels with about 45,000 rooms while the figure in Nha Trang is about 40,000.

Many hotels in downtown Nha Trang have recently been put up for sale before the peak summer travel season.

Mauro Gasparotti, director of Savills Hotels APAC, said that Nha Trang and Da Nang still faced many challenges post-reopening as business profits in these areas are lower than Bali and Phuket by 40% to 60%.

Before the pandemic, Da Nang and Nha Trang used to be heavily dependent on Chinese tourists.

Though China resumed its outbound tour packages from mid-March, the number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam remains low.

In southern Phu Quoc, Vietnam's biggest island, the average occupancy rate in the four- and five-star hotel segment during this year's holiday season reached only 60%, though airfares from Hanoi and HCMC to the island have plummeted.

In contrast to tourist destinations connected by air, luxury resorts and villas near Hanoi and HCMC that are easily accessible by car are fully booked during the holidays as people opt for cheaper travel options.

Anbooking, which manages over 50 villas on the outskirts of Hanoi, said its occupancy rate reached over 90% two weeks ago, with room rates seeing a slight increase.

The average occupancy rate at accommodation facilities in the south-central province of Binh Thuan, home to resort town Mui Ne, around 187 km from HCMC, reached over 90% as of April 21.

In Vung Tau, around 90 km from HCMC, the average occupancy rate has reached around 80% but the figure could rise at the last minute.

Last year 5 million people traveled during the four-day holiday.