Beaches, eco-tourism spots packed with holiday revellers

HCM City (VNA) - Tourist spots, hotels and amusement venues, and buses and ferries across the country were packed with holidaymakers during the four-day holiday that ended on May 2. 

The sunshine and hot weather in the south made it suitable for sea-related tourism and eco-tourism.

Hotels in famous beaches of Vung Tau, Mui Ne and Nha Trang operated at full capacity, with room tariffs hiked to two to three times the normal rates. 

Major roads in Vung Tau were packed with tourists from the evening of April 29 as an influx began from neighbouring places like HCM City and Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces.

On the first three days of the holiday, around 177,000 people visited the city, according to its Tourist Zones Management Board.

Hotels and resorts in Phan Thiet were fully booked from April 28 to May 2, according to 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 percent of capacity.

But hotels said room rates and other services were only 10-20 percent higher due to advance booking.

Nha Trang welcomed around 650,000 visitors during the past four days, a significant increase compared to last year, according to the local Department of Tourism.

International tourists 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 congestion on major roads and large crowds at popular tourist spots.  

On April 30 and May 1, the Valley of Love (Thung Lung Tinh Yeu) and Flower Garden, two famous tourist attractions, respectively received more than 15,000 tourists and 12,000 visitors.

The number of tourists visiting eco-tourism destinations in Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta surged an estimated three-fold, with most of them being from HCM City.

They went on tours on the Tien River and visited Thoi Son and Phung islands where they enjoyed authentic Delta cuisine and specialties such as honey and coconut candies.

The My Tho tourist wharf in Tien Giang province served nearly 3,000 visitors going on cruises on the Tien River daily.

The Dong Tam Snake Farm, Vinh Trang Pagoda, Tan Thanh beach, Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village and Thoi Son islands also received a large number of visitors.

The prices of tourist services in Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces remained unchanged from normal days. 

On May 1, dozens of thousands of passengers and vehicles waited in long lines at the Binh Khanh Ferry in HCM City’s Nha Be district to cross the river into Can Gio district.

Though all nine ferries were operating, they failed to meet the demand, Nguyen Tan Hao of the Voluntary Youth Public Benefit Service Company said.

Motorbikes had to wait 15-20 minutes to get on a ferry while it took 45 minutes to one hour for cars, he said.

Around 55,000 passengers used the ferries on May 1, double the figure on normal days.

The number of passengers at the Cat Lai Ferry in District 2 topped 99,000 on April 30, a record number.

The average number has since declined to 70,000.-VNA