A report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to the Ministry of Transport (MOT) on aviation safety and security during the April 30 – May 1 holiday showed that total output through airports reached 7,700 takeoffs and landings, a decrease of 12 percent compared with the same period last year.

The total number of passengers was estimated at 1.105 million, a decrease of 3.3 percent, while cargo transport was 15,900 tons, up by 7.5 percent.

The number of passengers going through Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City reached 375,000, an increase of 3 percent over the same period last year, while the figures were 240,000 (a decrease of 4 percent) for Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi and 94,800 (a decrease of 8 percent) for Da Nang Airport.

Vietnam’s airlines served 486,600 passengers during the holiday, a decrease of 13 percent, and carried 1,858 tons of cargo, a drop of 27 percent.

From April 30 to May 3, 2022, Vietnam carriers provided 3,600 flights, a decrease of 13.5 percent, of which 3,300 flights took off on time with the OTP (on time performance) rate of 88.8 percent, a decrease of 0.7 percent compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, 25 flights were canceled.

According to CAAV, there was no congestion at airports during the holiday. Agencies and units in the aviation industry arranged all resources to best serve people’s travel demand, and ensured security, safety and high quality of services. CAAV asked airlines to strictly implement flights according to allocated slots; minimize delayed and canceled flights; and arrange competent representatives to handle questions and complaints from passengers.

Top 3 localities

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), Vietnam’s tourism witnessed a boom during the holiday. Top three localities received 2 million travelers with the revenue of VND4 trillion, a sharp rise compared with the same period in previous years.

Thanh Hoa was the No 1 with 898,000 travelers, including 577,400 staying travelers, up by 85.6 percent. The total revenue from tourism reached VND1.96 trillion, up by 123.2 percent.

Nghe An was on the second position. According to the provincial tourism department, the province received 712,000 passengers and got the revenue of VND855 billion from tourism services. 3-5-star hotels at Cua Lo Town and some tourism sites in Dien Chau and Con Cuong reported the high occupancy rates of 90-100 percent.

Hanoi was on the third position with 550,000 travelers, which was 20 times higher than the same period of 2020, including 2,000 foreign travelers. The total revenue from travelers was estimated at VND1.5 trillion, up by 17 percent.

The HCM City Tourism Department reported that the number of people visiting tourism and entertainment sites during the four-day holiday was 420,000. 

The city received 13,200 foreign travelers and 186,800 domestic travelers, including 95,000 travelers staying at accommodations. The occupancy rate was 65-70 percent. It is estimated that the total revenue from tourism during the holiday was VND1.61 trilion.

Saigontourist reported that on April 30 morning alone, 25,000 travelers departed with domestic and international tours, an increase of 70 percent over the same period of 2021. The total number of clients the travel firm served during the four days of holiday was 32,000.

The good business performance during the April holiday showed that the travel psychology of family groups (10-20 travelers) and businesses (200-1,000 travelers) has come back to normal.

April holiday is the time just before summer, therefore, the tours to sea and island were most favored. According to travel firms, Da Lat, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang – Ninh Chu and Da Nang topped the list of favorite destinations.

In the central region, Da Nang is a big choice of travelers. The tours to Nha Trang – Gac Ma relict site; Nghe An; Quang Binh – Truong Son attracted high numbers of travelers.

Meanwhile, significant increases in number of tourists booking Buon Ma Thuot – Pleiku – Kon Tum; Bao Loc – Ta Dung (Dak Nong) tours have been reported.

Other localities also saw the numbers of visitors soar. Kien Giang, for example, received 297,000 guests, an increase of 67.7 percent, including 5,000 foreign travelers, an increase of 66.4 percent. Da Nang City received 254,000 guests, or 3.4 times higher; Quang Nam 200,000 guests, an increase of 155 percent; Quang Ninh 340,000 guests and An Giang 300,000.

Meanwhile, some provinces have reported decreases in numbers of tourists. Lam Dong province, for example, only received 132,000 guests. On April 30 and May 1, Ba Ria – Vung Tau could receive only 192,000 guests and earned the revenue of VND149 billion because of bad weather.

Ngoc Ha - Tran Chung