Nguyen Minh Thuy in Hanoi said Tet is the time for her family to relax after a year of working hard. They enjoy the holiday by traveling. In general, they depart on the second or third day of the new lunar year and return on the fifth day. Favorite destinations for her family are tourism sites in the central coastal areas or southern region, which allow them to avoid the cold in the north.

However, Thuy has not booked tours for the 2023 Tet holiday, though she thought of traveling to Nha Trang or Phu Quoc three months ago. She said air tickets and hotel room rates are 30-40 percent higher than previous years.

Even if they fly with budget airlines at departure time at night or early in the morning, they have to pay VND30 million for tickets to Phu Quoc and VND20 million to Nha Trang.

“If counting expenses on meals, accommodation and travel, I would have to pay VND35-50 million for a 3-day trip,” she said.

Ngoc Diep in Hanoi also was surprised about travel costs. After asking for information from six agents, she concluded that it would take VND7-9 million per traveler for a trip to Ninh Thuan that lasts 3 days and 2 nights. Meanwhile, the cost was just VND5 million last year.

Both Thuy and Diep decided to cancel their travel plans this Tet, saying that they may travel after Tet or in summer instead.

According to travel firms, the number of Tet tours sold this year is much lower than previous ones. Hotels in Phu Quoc, Cam Ranh, Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan still have high numbers of unoccupied rooms.

Jam Travel CEO Son Hai said the tour fees for this Tet are high because the input costs are by far higher than previous years. The sale of tickets remains stable as people have to book tickets to return to their home town for Tet family reunion, while the number of tours books has dropped by 50 percent compared with the last year.

A representative of Saigontourist said the company plans to serve 40,000 clients on Tet holiday, however, the number of bookings is just equal to 60 percent of the plan.

TST Tourist also said that the sales are still much lower than in the pre-pandemic period. The tour fees are really high, 25-30 percent higher than the last years, which is blamed on airfare increases.

Thuy Chi