Holiday airfares skyrocket as holidaymakers hesitate

VOV.VN - The price of domestic airfares has increased significantly over recent days ahead of the upcoming five-day national holiday, dealing a heavy blow to tour operators’ recovery efforts.

Local people will have five days off work starting on April 29 to celebrate National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1). However, airfares for domestic routes have remained rather high, even higher than those for outbound tours, and the prices are likely to keep rising over the coming days.

On the websites of local airlines, airfares for flights from April 28 to May 4 change continuously every hour, with many flights running out of economy class tickets.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced a round-trip flight from Hanoi to Phu Quoc at VND8.5 million to VND10 million, while budget airlines VietJet Air and Bamboo Airways have offered a similar flight on the same route at VND7.9 million to VND8.3 million.

Meanwhile, a round-trip flight run by VietJet Air, Vietnam Airlines, and Bamboo Airways from Ho Chi Minh City to Thailand costs between VND3.2 million and VND5 million. Similarly, airlines are offering tickets starting from VND5.5 million for a round-trip flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore.

Airlines attribute the soaring prices of airfares on domestic routes to a surge in people’s travel demand for the long holiday. In addition, airlines are attempting to increase the frequency of flights, thereby affecting supply sources. They are also trying to expand overseas destination networks, making a change in domestic flight arrangements.

The soaring prices of air tickets deal a heavy blow to domestic tour operators that are trying to stimulate local tourism. Many local holidaymakers have decided to travel abroad instead of flying to domestic destinations.

Truong Thi Thanh Huong, a resident living in Ho Chi Minh City, says she originally planned to travel to Da Nang during the upcoming holiday. However, she changed her mind when a round-trip flight to Thailand or Singapore would cost just VND5 million or VND6 million per person, compared to over VND5 million per person for a round-trip flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang.

During the Vietnam International Travel Mart 2023 recently held in Hanoi, travel businesses marketed thousands of promotional products with tours to Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and China receiving plenty of attention from visitors.

Nguyen Cong Hoan, general director of Flamingo Redtours, points out that soaring prices of domestic airfares reduced the overall attractiveness of products and will impact the competitiveness of destinations. To deal with this problem, many travel firms often make early deposits and hoard tickets in large quantities. However, this solution is not safe as travel businesses will be forced to sell off tickets when the market plunges.

According to information provided by experts, the surge in airfares will affect the repositioning of the tourism market in the current recovery period. As airfares account for 40% to 60% of the cost of a tour, they believe that rising ticket prices are not just an issue for the airline industry itself.  

“This has a certain impact on domestic tourism, especially those that depend entirely on flights,” emphasises Nguyen Thi Khanh, head of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association. “The tourism and aviation industries should sit together to introduce effective stimulus programmes.”

In this context, many travelers are hesitant to go on a summer holiday or consider alternatives by looking for more affordable flight routes or choosing a type of summer travel that does not use aviation in order to reduce costs.  

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