Beach goers in Nha Trang City. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Dũng

HCM CITY — The summer rush has caused many popular tourist sites across the country to be overrun by holidaymakers and tourism services and traffic infrastructure are struggling to cope.

The beach city of Vũng Tàu, situated 120km from HCM City, has seen a sharp rise in the number of visitors since early this month.

It received 285,000 visitors in the week from July 13 to 19, an increase of 30,000 compared to the previous week, Phạm Khắc Tộ, director of the Vũng Tàu Tourist Sites Management, said.

Last weekend beaches in Phú Quốc, Nha Trang, Quy Nhơn, and Đà Nẵng too attracted large numbers of people.

A spokesperson for the Phú Quốc International Airport said the airport received 22,000 passengers last Friday (July 17), double the number it did last year.

It expects to serve 800,000 passengers this month.

More than 10,000 visitors have flocked to beaches daily in Sơn Trà and Ngũ Hành Sơn districts in Đà Nẵng on weekdays and double that number during weekends, according to the beaches management board.

Cao Trí Dũng, chairman of the city Tourism Association, said at present the city receives 80 domestic flights a day compared to 70 last year, bringing more tourists.

Family groups travelling by car from the central and northern regions are also on the rise, he said.

Hotels and resorts in the Central Highlands city of Đà Lạt have achieved average occupancy of 85 per cent in recent days, according to its People’s Committee.

Last weekend there were nearly 100,000 visitors, double the number from the previous week.

Tourists caused severe traffic congestion on major streets leading to tourist attractions in Đà Lạt last weekend.

With the increasing crowds at many tourist destinations putting a strain on tourism services, the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism called on local tourism authorities to monitor their quality and keep out illegal travel operators and service providers.

It told tourist sites, hotels, restaurants, entertainment facilities, and transportation service providers to remain in the national domestic travel stimulus programme and ensure quality of services and tourists’ safety. — VNS