Many hotels at popular tourist sites such as Phan Thiet, Nha Trang and Dalat have revised down their room tariffs though the summer holiday season has just started, with a sharp increase in supply there cited as a key reason.

Tourists visit Ba Na Hills in Danang City.

Many more hotel rooms have led to price falls in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province.

Mui Ne Bay Resort has offered rooms at VND1.4-1.5 million per night while hotels on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street and in the Ham Tien area have sold their rooms at lower tariffs this summer than the same period last year.

Nguyen Van Khoa, chairman of the Binh Thuan Tourism Association, said Phan Thiet City has attracted many holidaygoers this summer but hotel room prices in this central coast city have gone down by an average 20%.

The falls in room tariffs are attributable to hotel oversupply. As many hotels and resorts have mushroomed in the seaside resort town, owners have had to lower prices to compete against rivals.

As Phan Thiet is no longer the only seaside destination in the country for resort visitors, service providers must offer competitive prices to compete with other localities such as Nha Trang and Phu Quoc.

Many new hotels have been up and running in Binh Thuan Province though local authorities have tried to restrict construction of so many new hotels and resorts. The province has seen nearly 2,000 new rooms being put into service a year, triggering fiercer competition in the sector, Khoa said.

Many travel companies said hotel bookings have been easier in Nha Trang City in Khanh Hoa Province, partly due to the recent fall in Russian arrivals. Despite more domestic travelers, room tariffs in the city have dropped by 10% due to higher hotel supply.

Khanh Hoa Province currently has 18,000 hotel rooms, mostly in Nha Trang City.

Hotels in Dalat City have also offered lower prices, with four-star rooms ranging from VND1-1.2 million per night, down by VND200,000-300,000 against last year.

This summer, Hue City has been known for offering lower hotel prices than other localities due to low demand. Some four-star hotels have listed room tariffs at just VND550,000-600,000 per night while popular hotels have quoted prices from VND900,000 to VND1 million per night, only half the levels of similar hotels in HCMC.

Speaking to the Daily, HCMC travel firms said some localities are grappling with oversupply for four and five-star hotels. Many hotel representatives have come to the companies to offer promotional programs in the hope of attracting more guests.

However, hotels in other destinations such as Danang and Phu Quoc have bucked the trend, with their room rates getting higher than last year due to high demand.