Thesunshine and hot weather in the south made it suitable for sea-related tourismand eco-tourism.
Hotels in famous beaches of Vung Tau, Mui Ne and Nha Trang operated at fullcapacity, with room tariffs hiked to two to three times the normal rates.
Majorroads in Vung Tau were packed with tourists from the evening of April 29 as aninflux began from neighbouring places like HCM City and Dong Nai and Binh Duongprovinces.
On thefirst three days of the holiday, around 177,000 people visited the city,according to its Tourist Zones Management Board.
Hotelsand resorts in Phan Thiet were fully booked from April 28 to May 2, accordingto the Binh Thuan province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Most high-end hotels in the Ham Tien-Mui Ne Tourist Zone operated at 90-95 percentof capacity.
Buthotels said room rates and other services were only 10-20 percent higher due toadvance booking.
Nha Trangwelcomed around 650,000 visitors during the past four days, a significantincrease compared to last year, according to the local Department of Tourism.
Internationaltourists rose by 28 per cent, with a majority coming from Russia and China.
Da Lat also saw a large influx of visitors and a resultant traffic congestionon major roads and large crowds at popular tourist spots.
On April 30 and May 1, the Valley of Love (Thung Lung Tinh Yeu) and FlowerGarden, two famous tourist attractions, respectively received more than 15,000tourists and 12,000 visitors.
Thenumber of tourists visiting eco-tourism destinations in Tien Giang and Ben Treprovinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta surged an estimated three-fold, withmost of them being from HCM City.
They went on tours on the Tien River and visited Thoi Son and Phung islandswhere they enjoyed authentic Delta cuisine and specialties such as honey andcoconut candies.
The My Tho tourist wharf in Tien Giang province served nearly 3,000 visitorsgoing on cruises on the Tien River daily.
The Dong Tam Snake Farm, Vinh Trang Pagoda, Tan Thanh beach, Dong Hoa Hiepancient village and Thoi Son islands also received a large number of visitors.
The prices of tourist services in Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces remainedunchanged from normal days.
On May 1, dozens of thousands of passengers and vehicles waited in long linesat the Binh Khanh Ferry in HCM City’s Nha Be district to cross the river into CanGio district.
Thoughall nine ferries were operating, they failed to meet the demand, Nguyen Tan Haoof the Voluntary Youth Public Benefit Service Company said.
Motorbikes had to wait 15-20 minutes to get on a ferry while it took 45 minutesto one hour for cars, he said.
Around55,000 passengers used the ferries on May 1, double the figure on normal days.
The number of passengers at the Cat Lai Ferry inDistrict 2 topped 99,000 on April 30, a record number.
The average number has since declined to 70,000.-VNA