HCM CITY — Travel demand for the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday that this year begins on February 16 is expected to increase 20-30 per cent compared to last year.

Tour prices are expected to rise by 5-15 per cent compared to normal days due to higher fees for airfares, hotels and transportation, travel firms said.

Vietravel, one of the leading tour service providers in the country, has sold 65 per cent of its outbound tours and 55 per cent of domestic tours for the period, said Dương Kim Chi, deputy director of Vietravel.

Travellers have planned their Tết trips earlier than in previous years, with a variety of destinations, Chi said.

Trips under seven days such as tours to Japan and South Korea have been fully booked, with only 10 per cent left for sale, she said.

For domestic tours, destinations in the north are popular, followed by those in the central region.

This year, the company is organising overseas tours via air charter from HCM City to Fukushima in Japan, Phuket and Chiang Mai in Thailand, and Ningbo in China, with prices at 30 per cent lower than conventional packages.

The company expects to serve 38,000 tourists, up 20-25 per cent compared to last year.

Trần Thị Bảo Thu, director of Fiditour’s marketing and communication, said the company expected a 30 per cent increase in the number of bookings for Tết tours this year.

The number of bookings reached 75 per cent of the company’s tours planned for the new year, Thu said. Outbound tour prices will rise by 5-10 per cent compared to last year.

A representative of Viet Media Travel said outbound tours to Europe, Australia and the US are fully booked.

The company has sold 80 per cent of outbound tours to several Asian countries and domestic tours for Tết.

Outbound tours to Dubai, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Singapore and domestic tours to northern and central destinations have attracted many travellers.

The number of outbound tour bookings at TST Tourist increased 25 per cent year-on-year to reach 2,800 customers, while the number of domestic tour bookings were estimated at 1,500 customers, up 20 per cent year-on-year.

Long-trip tours to Europe, the US and Australia have also attracted a large number of customers. —VNS