Ba Na tourist site is expected to attract many tourists over the April 30 Reunification Day and May 1 Labor Day long weekend

TUOI TRE

Attractive discounts rates on package tours and the public holidays on April 30 and May 1 which help create four-day weekend at the end of this month have encouraged more people to go on tour on the occasion.

Domestic travel firm Viettravel reported an increase of 10 and 40 percent in the number of tourists booking domestic and outbound tours for the public holiday over the same period last year.

Local tour operators in HCMC reported an increase of 25 percent in bookings for domestic and overseas tours.

Saigontourist said its package tours to Europe and the U.S. are fully booked.

Only tours to Singapore-Malaysia and Thailand were still available, it said.

Tours for short holidays to south central coastal Phan Thiet City and central resort Nha Trang City are no longer available, as all local accommodation is fully booked.

This year’s holidays which fall on Thursday and Friday has resulted in the increasing number of tourists asking for longer days of traveling.

Among the popular domestic destinations are central resort cities of Danang and Nha Trang, Hoi An ancient town, northern mountainous Sapa town and Phu Quoc Island.

The primitive landscape of Ba Na tourist site also saw an increasing number of tourists thanks to the newly-operational cable car at Ba Na Mountain.

Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong remain favorite destinations for Vietnamese. Budget package tours to South Korea with discounts of 40 percent have also been booked by a large number of tourists.

According to the industry’s insiders, the average tour prices on this occasion rose by US$30 to 40 for outbound tours while domestic tours saw little changes in prices.

But most tourists are willing to pay more on the occasion to fully enjoy their four-day weekend.

Viettravel also teamed up with national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines to offer budget domestic package tours with prices lowered by VND2 million ($112) this summer.