Vietnamese make travel plans as pandemic concerns ease

With the country's second Covid-19 outbreak under control, 41 percent of Vietnamese respondents in a survey said they have made plans to travel between September and November.

The survey also found that 20 percent of the respondents planned to visit popular tourist destinations in December, while the remaining 39 percent said they would travel next year.

The survey of over 1,000 Vietnamese respondents on post Covid-19 travel trends was carried out last month by Vietnam's Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) and VnExpress.

Nearly 47 percent of the respondents said they intended to make trips of two to three days while over 44 percent planned trips of four days to a week. Just 2.6 percent favored a one-day trip while the remaining were considering trips of more than a week.

Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands, home to resort town Da Lat, was the most popular destination, with 23.6 percent saying they would like to travel there. Da Nang City in the central region was the destination of choice for 20.6 percent, while 18.6 percent preferred Ha Giang Province in northern highlands, home to beautiful terraced rice fields.

The survey found 48.6 percent of the respondents wanting to travel with their family, 30.8 percent with friends and 1.7 percent with colleagues. Six percent preferred to travel alone and the remaining wanted to join tour groups.

A dominant 56 percent of respondents said Covid-19 safety would be a leading decision making factor in choosing a holiday destination.

Over 70 percent said they wanted to travel by plane, 30 percent planned to use buses and 29.8 percent, personal vehicles. Just 10.9 percent were considering trains.

Vietnamese carriers have resumed domestic flights to and from Da Nang City, the epicenter of the country's second Covid-19 outbreak, since late last month after more than one month of suspension. The government has allowed the resumption of flights to mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, but airlines are grappling with practical issues and have yet to finalize their schedules.

The survey also found 36.3 percent of respondents planning to book hotel rooms and tours through online platforms while 39.7 percent planned to contact hotels directly.

57 percent feared traveling to tourist hotspots that used to be Covid-19 epicenters, the survey found.

Da Nang, one of Vietnam's most popular tourism destinations, neighboring Quang Nam Province in central region and Hai Duong Province in the north were the biggest Covid-19 hotspots in the country's second outbreak wave which started on July 25.

Vietnam has gone over two weeks without domestic infections of the novel coronavirus, and major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have reopened "non-essential" services like karaoke parlors and dance clubs.

The nation has recorded 1,069 Covid-19 cases so far, 40 of them active.