Tourism industry hopes for 9-day Lunar New Year boost

By Tu Nguyen September 30, 2024 | 08:03 pm PT

A group of tourists pose for photos in Hanoi's Old Quarter during Tet holiday, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

A nine-day break for Tet in early 2025 would greatly benefit the tourism industry if the government approves it, according to insiders.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs recently called for having Lunar New Year holidays from Jan. 25 to Feb. 2, 2025. The Year of the Snake starts on Jan. 29, 2025.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has supported the proposal, which is awaiting final approval from the prime minister.

Tran Phuong Linh, marketing director of HCMC-based travel company Ben Thanh Tourist, hoping the decision is made early, said: "A long holiday could help increase the number of customers booking tourism services by 20% from last year."

In 2016 it had been a nine-day Tet break, and the results showed for the travel industry, she added. The holiday lasted seven days in later years.

Luu Thi Thu of HCMC-based Hoang Viet Travel also hoped for a nine-day break saying it would provide much-needed relief to the tourism industry, which has struggled this year due to flooding in the northern region.

Since 2018 the trend of traveling abroad for Tet has gained popularity, especially to long-haul destinations like Europe and the U.S., she said.

After the Covid pandemic this trend has continued to grow, with increasing numbers of people leaving on New Year's Eve or on Tet, she said.

This year her company has already accepted bookings for five-day trips to Singapore and Malaysia and to Dubai, she added.

Pham Thi Thu Huyen, sales director of Hanoi-based MayTrip, said an early announcement of the Tet holiday schedule would allow tour operators to make plans.

"With a longer holiday, long-distance tours are easier to sell with Vietnamese tourists increasingly preferring to travel abroad during Tet."

Her company has already arranged tour programs for destinations like Thailand, Japan, South Korea, China, and even farther afield like Australia, Europe, Turkey, and Egypt.

It has already received bookings for tours to Japan's Hokkaido island during the snow season, departing on the 29th day of the 12th lunar month and priced at VND49 million (US$2,000).

But some tour operators remain cautious fearing the economic slowdown and the impacts of the floods could cause people to cut back on travel spending.