This year, the extended 30 April and 1 May holiday period has led to a surge in travel demand, particularly for tourism. Concurrently, airfares have risen sharply, prompting many to alter their travel plans due to prohibitive costs.

1

Increased capacity but also increased ticket prices

Vietnam Airlines and Vasco announced that during the 30 April and 1 May holiday period, they will provide nearly 551,000 seats (equivalent to nearly 2,800 flights) on domestic routes from 26 April to 5 May. However, this means the number of flights has only slightly increased compared to the same period in 2022, rather than the significant increase seen during other peak seasons. This is also a common situation for airlines currently, as it is difficult to increase flights due to limited take-off and landing slots at Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai airports. Vietnam Airlines and Vasco are focusing on increasing flights on domestic tourist routes popular with visitors, such as between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hue, Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Cam Ranh, Da Lat, Phu Quoc, etc. Additionally, Vietnam Airlines' international route network has almost fully recovered, creating very favourable conditions for people to travel abroad during this period. Vietnam Airlines operates over 50 international routes to popular tourist destinations in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the US. The airline noted that many flights during the holiday period are almost fully booked, mainly on 29 April and 2 May. Furthermore, on surrounding days, flights are 60% to 70% full. A representative from Vietravel Airlines stated that the 30 April and 1 May holiday, as well as the summer period, are considered a "boost" to help Vietnamese tourism not only recover but also grow strongly. Therefore, the airline has planned to implement its summer flight schedule from late March and has prepared resources to serve a large volume of domestic and international passengers. Vietravel Airlines will maintain the frequency of its current routes while increasing flights on key summer routes such as Hanoi - Da Nang; Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon. The summer tourism market is increasingly "heating up," leading to a corresponding increase in airfares. On weekends, ticket prices are always 40-50% higher than during weekdays. According to a survey by An ninh Thủ đô, holiday ticket prices have been rising hourly, reaching levels comparable to the Lunar New Year, with many flights even showing as sold out. On the websites of domestic airlines, from 27 April to 4 May, tickets to domestic tourist destinations such as Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc quickly sold out, with prices adjusting hourly. Some flights were reported as sold out or had very few remaining seats at high prices. A one-way flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, which normally costs around 700,000 - 1 million VND, has increased to 1.7 - 2.5 million VND during the holiday, more than double. Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, and Da Lat are three destinations that have seen unprecedented high prices. Round-trip tickets to Phu Quoc on Vietnam Airlines range from 6.5 million to nearly 9 million VND, whereas on regular days, the same route only costs 3 - 4 million VND round-trip.

3

Domestic travel more expensive than international

The exorbitant increase in domestic airfares has led many families to choose alternative travel options that better suit their budgets and the current economic climate. According to the Kien Giang Tourism Association, the tourism situation in Phu Quoc is currently quite bleak, with a sharp decline in visitor numbers. "This is evident when observing Tran Hung Dao Street (Duong Dong ward) at night. The number of strolling tourists has been quite sparse in recent days," stated a representative of the Kien Giang Tourism Association. Although local tour operators have reduced service prices to the maximum, the situation has not improved due to the significant increase in airfares to Phu Quoc. This has been a barrier preventing tourists from visiting the island recently. Many tourists contact tour companies for trips to Phu Quoc, and all services are agreed upon, but when they see the airfare, they decline and look for other destinations. In fact, the airfare alone to Phu Quoc is currently much more expensive than an all-inclusive tour to some neighbouring countries like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. The Kien Giang Tourism Association cited an example: in mid-March 2023, a famtrip delegation from Hanoi to Phu Quoc for a tourism survey found that many people had to pay 6-8 million VND for a round-trip air ticket, while an all-inclusive tour from Ho Chi Minh City to Thailand cost just over 6 million VND. Not only during holidays but also on weekends, airfares are higher than on weekdays, and this year they are significantly higher than in previous years. Meanwhile, most tourists arrive in Phu Quoc by air, which is a headache for Phu Quoc's tourism stakeholders. Given this situation, Phu Quoc tourism businesses have held meetings, discussions, and promotions with airlines, but no positive improvement has been seen. The Kien Giang Tourism Association has sent a written request to the Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee to ask relevant agencies and units to support, research solutions, and develop a specific action plan to work with the Ministry of Transport, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, and airlines to establish a reasonable airfare mechanism to stimulate tourism demand and boost air travel. Additionally, the Kien Giang Provincial Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion Centre has submitted a proposal to the Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee seeking approval to host a meeting to find solutions and airfare mechanisms to promote Phu Quoc tourism development.

2

Rectifying ticket sales above the price ceiling

Following reports of excessively high airfares for travel during the 30 April and 1 May holidays, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam recently issued a directive to comply with regulations on passenger transport service prices on domestic routes. Accordingly, to ensure the rights of passengers using air transport, especially during the 30 April and 1 May holidays and the peak summer season of 2023, Vietnamese airlines are required to strictly adhere to listing; publishing, and publicly disclosing prices as regulated across all distribution channels; and imposing sanctions on agents who do not comply with domestic airfare regulations. Furthermore, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam also requested enhanced control over airline ticket sales, ensuring that tickets are sold at declared prices and do not exceed the regulated price ceiling. At the same time, it urged increased communication to passengers about purchasing air tickets from authorised agents and official distribution channels, as well as reporting information about domestic airfares exceeding regulations to airline hotlines. According to Circular 17/2019 of the Ministry of Transport, which sets the price framework for passenger transport services on domestic routes, the price framework for economy class passenger transport services is calculated based on flight distance. For routes under 500km, the maximum one-way fare is 1.6 million VND/ticket for socio-economic development routes and 1.7 million VND/ticket for other routes. For routes with distances from 500km to under 850km, the maximum fare is 2.2 million VND/ticket. From 850km to under 1,000km, the maximum fare is 2.79 million VND/ticket. For routes 1,280km and above, the maximum fare is 3.75 million VND/ticket. In addition to rectifying air ticket sales, the Civil Aviation Authority also increased slots at Tan Son Nhat International Airport to allow airlines to add flights during the peak 30 April holiday. Specifically, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam decided to increase slot coordination parameters at Tan Son Nhat International Airport for the 30 April and 1 May 2023 holidays and the peak summer season of 2023. From 28 April to 3 May and during the peak summer season of 2023 (from 1 June to 15 August 2023), an additional 26 slots/day will be added. With this increase in slots, airlines will provide approximately 4,500 - 5,000 additional seats/day, meeting passenger demand during peak periods. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam also required airlines to operate flights on time, limiting delays Source: An ninh Thủ đô.