Phu Quoc ‘headache’ worrying about lack of customers, other hot spots ‘burn out’ rooms for the April 30-May 1 holiday

Struggling with plane tickets

As noted by the reporter, in the early afternoon of April 25, flight tickets from Hanoi to Phu Quoc were still available but the price was super expensive, up to 8.6 million VND/round-trip ticket, and then sold out after a few hours. From Ho Chi Minh City, the ticket price is about 4 million VND but it is still very little.

Mainly depends on the flight route, so when the airfare is as expensive as a 4-day package tour to Thailand, Phu Quoc is easily eliminated among the choices of tourists. Expensive air ticket prices will continue from 2023 until now. Therefore, travel agencies and hotels are worried that the number of tourists going to Phu Quoc during the April 30-May 1 holiday will decrease sharply.

Discuss with PV. VietNamNet, Mr. Pham Quang Hau, CEO of Rooty Trip Phu Quoc, said that up to now, domestic customers booking services through his company have not increased much, just a little more crowded than usual. He is afraid that the number of visitors during the peak period from April 30 to May 1 this year will be even lower than the same period in 2023.

“There are currently only about 40 flights to the island, of which there are only 15-20 flights from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Hai Phong. This number is only 1/3 of the peak in 2022, when there will be up to 70 flights (with 40 domestic flights) to Phu Quoc. Ticket prices are sky-high, causing customers to run away,” Mr. Hau said.

At Vina Phu Quoc Travel, Director Nguyen Vu Khac Huy shared that the situation is no better. Flight routes and passenger numbers increased slowly and were fewer than last year’s holidays. He is hoping that the number of visitors from the Western provinces, the Central Highlands, and the Southeast, although promoting late, is increasing significantly. To get to the island, guests travel by boat from Ha Tien or Rach Gia (Kien Giang), taking 1-2 hours.

Ms. Pham Thi Dong, a travel agent in Da Nang, also said that retail customers booking services to Phu Quoc for the upcoming holidays are very few, only a few people, because airfare prices are always sky-high, plus points. arrival was saturated so they changed direction.

Last year’s April 30-May 1 holiday, Phu Quoc welcomed just over 112,000 visitors, down 11.5% over the same period last year.

Statistics from the Mustgo booking platform, this year’s April 30 holiday, up to this point, the proportion of guests booking 3-4 star hotels in Phu Quoc has reached about 60-70%, while the 5-star segment has only reached 60%.

Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of Best Price, said that, in Phu Quoc, due to high air ticket prices and slow sales of rooms and tours, his company did not dare to buy many.

Although in the first quarter of 2024, Ngoc Island welcomed more than 1.65 million visitors, an increase of 6.4% over the same period last year, but the majority were international visitors. The locality is making efforts to promote and attract domestic tourists such as increasing the number of tours and trips to the island by speedboat, opening new services, increasing incentives and discounts,…

Mr. Pham Quang Hau assessed that service prices in Phu Quoc have never been so cheap. However, plane tickets to the island are still a big barrier. If the number of domestic tourists continues to decline, it will be a great sadness for Phu Quoc.

At last minute, hotel rooms ran out quickly

4 days before the Liberation holiday, Ms. Nguyen Hong Hanh’s family in Gia Thuy – Long Bien (Hanoi), including 4 people, just decided to go on a road trip from Hanoi to the Central Highlands provinces by car. When booking hotel rooms at stops, she only takes care of everything. However, in Quang Binh, Hue, Da Nang or Nha Trang, Buon Ma Thuot, she easily booked a room, except for Mang Den (Kon Tum), where Ms. Hanh struggled to manage, and finally booked a room for two nights from 29-30. /4.

“I was still lucky because I was able to book a room a few days in advance, the price was not too expensive even though I went on holiday,” Ms. Hanh said.

A week ago, records on the Mustgo booking platform showed that there were still many vacant rooms, some famous tourist destinations had only reached 30-40% hotel room capacity. This week, Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Thao, Sales Director of Mustgo, said that bookings increased significantly as the holiday season neared.

For example, in Sa Pa, 3-4 star hotels are completely out of rooms; The 5-star hotel system is also full on April 29 and 30, with only rooms left from May 1 (80% full).

In Nha Trang, if the number of rooms in the city is still quite abundant when 5-star hotels only reach 70-73% capacity, then in the Cam Ranh area alone, the booking rate is up to 90%.

Media representatives of Ana Mandara Cam Ranh and Pax Ana Doc Let resorts informed that although airfares are expensive, thanks to Nha Trang destination, it is convenient to travel by road, rail or by personal vehicle from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, coming from the Central region, resorts close to the beach record quite good booking rates, almost full.

With the destination Phan Thiet, the booking rate is also up to more than 80-85% for all accommodation establishments.

The hotel and resort segments in Da Lat are almost fully booked for the April 30 holiday, with capacity reaching over 90%.

However, in some places like Quy Nhon, except for 3-star hotels, which are full, the 4-5-star hotel segment has only reached 60% capacity, with many empty rooms. Or in Vung Tau, the rate of new bookings reached 70-80%.

This number of available rooms can run out quickly because many guests make decisions at the last minute, sometimes not wanting to leave until their day off.

In Da Nang, room occupancy reaches over 90% at 3-4 star hotels, approximately 80% at 5-star beachfront hotels; However, 5-star hotels in the city still have many empty rooms. The same goes for Hoi An. That is according to statistics from the booking platform, but in reality, for many hotels in these two destinations, the room vacancy rate is still up to half.

According to Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, in the Northern region, hotels in Hoa Binh, Sam Son (Thanh Hoa), Cat Ba (Hai Phong),… have long run out of rooms. Due to high demand, most hotels charge a surcharge of about 30% on the holiday of April 30-May 1, with some hotels surcharging up to 40-50%. For example, in Cat Ba, some hotels raised their room prices to nearly double, from 1.7 million to 3 million VND.

While in the South, the surcharge level is more stable, only 20-25%, not even a surcharge like Phu Quoc.

Air tickets from April 30 to May 1 for many routes were sold out despite ‘sky-high’ prices.Many flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to famous tourist destinations are sold out, despite the expensive prices. The regulatory agency has just asked airlines to urgently add flights.