Local tourism industry rakes in cash from bumper national holiday

According to data provided by various tourism departments, Ho Chi Minh City, the central province of Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, and the central province of Nghe An were the top tourism earners, raking in trillions of VND in revenue during the five day break marking National Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers’ Day (May 1).

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism reported that the southern city welcomed roughly 950,000 visitors, including 48,000 foreigners, and pocketed about VND3.13 trillion from tourism services. Its hotel room occupancy rate stood at 70%, marking an increase of 7% year on year. The southern metropolis also earned the highest tourism revenue throughout the country during the holiday.

Tourist attractions in the central province of Thanh Hoa also attracted a record high of arrivals. Despite facing unfavourable weather on the initial days of the holiday, the province welcomed nearly 1.2 million visitors, an annual increase of 33%. Sam Son city saw the highest number of visitors with about 850,000, whilst total tourism revenue reached about VND2.8 trillion, up 48% compared to last year.

The Tourism Department of Hanoi shared that during the five-day break the capital served more than 720,000 tourists, including 69,500 foreigners, and earned around VND2.4 trillion, equal to US$102.2 million, from services. Among the capital’s popular destinations, Hanoi Zoo attracted the largest number of visitors, with more than 130,000, whilst hotel room occupancy reached more than 58%, up 16% over the same period from 2022.

Meanwhile, around 120,000 visitors flocked to the resort city of Da Lat in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. Of the total, 4,500 were foreigners, representing a year on year surge of 221.4%.

The reviewed period saw around 185,000 visitors flock to Sa Pa, a tourist destination located in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, with hotel room occupancy on the first three days of the holiday reaching 95%.

Some localities which also saw large numbers of holiday-makers include Nghe An that welcomed 780,000 visitors and earned VND1.5 trillion, Quang Ninh (620,000 visitors and VND900 billion), Khanh Hoa (800,000 visitors and over VND850 billion), and Ba Ria-Vung Tau (411,000 visitors and VND633 billion).

However, the tourist hotspot of Phu Quoc saw a decline in the number of travelers with only over 112,000, a drop of 11.5% over the same period from last year, and its total revenue from tourism services also fell 24% to VND132.5 billion. One of the main reasons for this decline was due to high airfares, and as a result its room occupancy rate dropped to below 50%.