Tours to China, Southeast Asia during National Day holidays sold out

Vu Bich Hue, communications manager at Flamingo Redtours, said her company’s tours are fully booked and it achieved 100% of its sales targets.

Tours to Thailand, South Korea, Japan, and China at prices starting from VND8.8 million (US$353) sold out early. "Pleasant autumn weather, easy transportation, and competitive prices have boosted interest in outbound tours this holiday season."

Vietnamese will enjoy a four-day Independence Day holiday from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3.

Nguyen Huu Cuong, general director of Trang An Travel Company, said tours to popular destinations in China such as Beijing and Shanghai were fully booked early.

Pham Anh Vu, deputy general director of Viet Media Travel Company, said by mid-August sales had reached nearly 60% of total capacity, with outbound tours accounting for 70%.

Tours requiring visas such as to China, Japan and South Korea are almost sold out while tours to visa-free destinations in Southeast Asia are still accepting bookings, he said.

Pham Van Bay, deputy director of Vietravel Hanoi, said 80% of tours are booked. The number of customers booking tours this year is 30% higher than last year and comparable with 2019, he said.

Many people are opting for short tours to Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, and Indonesia at prices starting from VND 8.9 million, and Chinese destinations like Zhangjiajie, Phoenix Ancient Town, Lijiang, and Shangri-La starting at VND9.9 million.

In the case of longer flights, such as to South Korea and Japan, travelers prefer traveling at night to maximize tour time.

Asian destinations are most popular among Vietnamese tourists, Dutch company Booking.com said after a review of check-in dates between Aug. 31 and Sept. 3.

Bangkok is the top destination, followed by Tokyo and Seoul. The rest of the top five include Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.