During the April 30 - May 1 holiday, airfare prices are high. What are the travel trends of people?
(Baonghean.vn) - Although there is still more than a month left until the holiday, people are actively looking for plane tickets to travel and return to their hometowns. However, plane tickets during the holiday are both expensive and scarce, so many people are considering other means of transportation to reduce costs.
Airfare prices are rising
This year, Mr. Nguyen Van Luc, Ben Thuy ward, Vinh city plans to take his family on a trip to Phu Quoc.April 30 - May 1 holidaycoming soon. However, after visiting the online ticket sales sites of airlines in Vietnam, Mr. Luc had to wonder about his plan because of the expensive ticket prices.
“According to experience in booking air tickets, people usually buy about 1 month before the holiday, however, when I looked at the Vietnam Airlines homepage for the Vinh - Phu Quoc flight on April 30 - May 1, the lowest ticket classes including: economy saver, economy super saver, economy standard are sold out. There is only flexible economy class with a price of 5.3 million VND/way. For grandparents, parents and 2 children, the cost of a one-way flight from Vinh to Phu Quoc alone is more than 20 million VND. The number is so large that I have to consider…” - Mr. Luc shared.
According to research, the Vinh - Phu Quoc flight is one of the flights that many people book tickets for during the tourist season. However, because there are no direct flights and connecting flights from Ho Chi Minh City, ticket prices are often higher than other flights.
This year's April 30 - May 1 holiday falls in the middle of the week (Tuesday and Wednesday), so many people tend to take Monday (April 29) off to have 5 consecutive days off from the weekend (April 27). That's why the demand for tickets to tourist destinations has also increased.
According to a survey on Vietnam Airlines' online ticket sales page, besides the Vinh - Phu Quoc flight, there are other flights with high numbers of bookings such as Vinh - Nha Trang, Vinh - Da Lat, Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City...
Specifically, for the Vinh - Nha Trang flight on April 27, there are 7 flights, all of which are connecting flights, including 3 connecting flights from Hanoi and 4 connecting flights from Ho Chi Minh City. For low-cost fares, there are only flexible economy tickets with prices above 5 million VND/way. The Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City flight on April 27 has 4 direct flights with prices above 2 million VND/way while on weekdays the price ranges from 1.5 - 1.7 million VND/ticket.
For VietJet Air, the number of people booking flights from Vinh to Ho Chi Minh City, Vinh to Da Lat, etc. has also increased. The ticket price for the Vinh - Ho Chi Minh City flight during the holiday is also over 2 million VND/direct flight, while on normal days it ranges from 1.3 - 1.5 million VND. The lowest price for the Vinh - Da Lat flight is 2.1 million VND/way, double that of normal days.
Although the number of passengers traveling by plane is not equal to the last Lunar New Year, the airfare for the April 30 - May 1 holiday has increased to the same level as the Tet holiday. Currently, the online ticket sales pages of airlines still have a number of economy class tickets, but it is expected that as the holiday approaches, these tickets will run out quickly, leaving only business class tickets with fees too high compared to the general income of the people.
According to statistics, Vinh airport has an average of 50 flights taking off and landing every day, and during the upcoming April 30 - May 1 holiday, the number of flights will increase to serve the travel needs of the people. In response to the increased number of passengers, the airport has also made plans to ensure flight safety, security and order for passengers.
Domestic and provincial tourism will flourish
In fact, in 2023 and early 2024, the economy is difficult, people's income is reduced, so the criteria of the majority of families when traveling and relaxing during the April 30 - May 1 holiday this year have to be carefully calculated. Therefore, the high price of air tickets during the holiday has made many people worried, many people have switched to other means of transport.
During this year's tourist season, Cua Lo Nghe An is expected to attract many tourists when Vinpearl Cua Hoi comes into operation, in addition, the North - South expressway has been opened. It is expected that tourists will travel by car from major centers to Nghe An will be very feasible. Other tourist destinations in Nghe An are also more convenient when traffic has been expanded with the opening of Hung Duc bridge, the overpass on the N5 highway leading to the western districts...
On the contrary, people in Nghe An and the Central provinces who want to travel to the Northern provinces such as Ninh Binh, Phu Tho, Hung Yen, Hoa Binh, Hanoi... have also found it easier to travel by car on the highway, which not only allows them to take the initiative in time, save costs, but also creates opportunities for tourism development in these provinces and cities.
Mr. Phan Van Thien, a native of Nghe An who is working in Hanoi, said: From Hanoi to Vinh on a normal day, if you fly Vietnam Airlines, the ticket price is approximately 1 million VND/way. However, during the current April 30 - May 1 holiday, the price has increased to 1.5 million VND/way. It is even more expensive for a large family to go back to their hometown. Therefore, I decided to take a private car to take the whole family back to their hometown.
In addition to traveling by car, the Railway industry also has a surge in the number of passengers during the holidays. Information from Vinh Railway Transport Station said that currently, many passengers and tour groups have booked tickets to depart during the upcoming holidays. In particular, the most are on the Vinh - Da Nang, Vinh - Hue, Vinh - Nha Trang, Vinh - Dieu Tri routes... In which, mainly passengers depart from Vinh to other provinces and cities, the number of passengers arriving at Vinh station is mainly passengers returning from Hanoi, fluctuating around 3,000 people/day during the holidays.
Mr. Cao Ngoc Tuan - Head of Vinh Railway Transport Station said: In the past 2 years, after the Covid-19 period, railway transport has shown positive signs of recovery. Currently, all trains have completely eliminated hard seats, the lowest class has been soft seats to create a comfortable feeling for passengers with reasonable ticket prices. During the upcoming April 30 - May 1 holiday, the number of passengers is expected to increase, Vietnam Railways will have additional trains to meet people's travel needs, in addition to fixed trains such as SE 1-2, SE 3-4, NA 1-2...
