Guest rooms in Dalat and Phan Thiet, especially at two-star hotels and those of higher ranking, are fully booked, making it hard for tourists to find rooms for their summer vacations.

Tourists are seen at a swimming pool of a beach resort in Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan Province

HCMC-based tourists to sites such as Vung Tau, Dalat and Phan Thiet have increased significantly in recent times, backed by newly-built and just-updated roads. Tourist arrivals have soared more sharply in summer, leading to an undersupply of hotel rooms. Tourists need to book rooms at least three or four weeks in advance.

Tu Quy Thanh, director of Lien Bang Travel Trading Company Limited (Lien Bang Travelink), said Chinese visitor arrivals to Phan Thiet and Dalat have shot up this summer, so hotels there are always full. Some travel firms cannot find enough rooms for their customers on weekends.

“The situation is worse than last year. Beside high room rates, there are fewer promotions than last year,” Thanh said.

Resorts of two to four stars are full and room rates have surged 30% compared to ordinary days.

“Holidaymakers need to book rooms at least three or four days ahead of their trips to Phan Thiet. The situation is even tougher in Dalat as we failed to find enough rooms for our customers at the last three weekends,” said a representative of an online hotel booking website.

Chairman of the Tourism Association of Binh Thuan Province Nguyen Van Khoa said domestic visitors, especially from HCMC, to Phan Thiet this summer have grown beyond expectations. Most tourists come on weekends and stay at three or four-star hotels, leading to a shortage of rooms.

“Domestic visitors to Phan Thiet this summer have picked up 20% over the same period last year while hotel room numbers are almost unchanged,” Khoa said.

SGT