‘Golden’ chance to start domestic tourism boom

Hanoi: The upcoming National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holidays, which spans five days from April 27 to May 1 and marks the start of the peak season, will provide a "golden" chance for the tourism sector to promote growth through domestic and international travelling activities. This year, many visitors are heading to the northern province of Dien Bien, the host of the Visit Vietnam Year 2024, where various activities have been held to mark the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory. Nguyen Van Hoan, a resident of Hoang Mai district in Hanoi said that for the holidays this year, due to high air fares, he chooses to visit Dien Bien instead of visiting his son in Ho Chi Minh City. The war veteran said he and his friends bought a tour from a travel firm to visit the site of the glorious historic victory. Catching this trend, many travel companies have designed tours to Dien Bien, which is easy to access by land and air. Along with historical relic sites, Dien Bien also boasts un ique cultures of local ethnic minority groups such as Mong, Xa Phang and Dao. Other popular destinations in the north include Hoa Binh, Ninh Binh, Ha Nam, Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh and Nam Dinh. In the central region, Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An are among top choices. Particularly, visitors can enjoy a heritage train tour connecting the three destinations and admire the natural beauty along the route passing through the Hai Van Pass, which was named among the 10 most beautiful drives in the world. Many travel firms have made use of railways for their tours in 2024 to provide new experience for domestic tourists with a reasonable price amid high air fares. Meanwhile, many tourists choose outbound tours. A representative from Saigontourist said that the firm has coordinated with Vietnam Airlines to build more than 200 tours, expecting to serve more than 110,000 visitors, of whom nearly 60% choose outbound tours. Pham Van Thuy, Vice Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) under the Min istry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the industry has designed plans to roll out comprehensive measures to attract visitors and meet the diverse demands of domestic and international travelers, while renovating methods and contents of tourism promotion. At the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2024 that took place from April 11-14 in Hanoi, tour operators offered more than 10,000 tours and tourism products with attractive promotion during the five-day holidays and upcoming summer. At the event, Vietnam Airlines offered 10,500 seats for the peak tourism season./. Source: Vietnam News Agency