Travel firms, destinations gear up for Korean tourist inflow during Tet

As the Republic of Korea (RoK) is forecast to be the largest source of foreign visitors to Vietnam during the coming Lunar New Year (Tet) holidays, many travel companies and tourist attractions have launched new products to meet their demand.
Travel firms, destinations gear up for Korean tourist inflow during Tet ảnh 1Korean tourists take a selfie on Golden Bridge in Da Nang city. (Photo: tuoitre.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) – As the Republic of Korea (RoK) is forecast to be the largest source of foreign visitors to Vietnam during the coming Lunar New Year (Tet) holidays, many travel companies and tourist attractions have launched new products to meet their demand.

Data from online travel platform Agoda showed that Vietnam is one of the five most favourite destinations of international tourists for Tet. The leading sources of travellers during this occasion will be the RoK, Singapore, China, Hong Kong (China), and Japan.

Major travel companies in the RoK like HantaTour, Very Good Travel, and Kyowon Tour Travel Easy reported that the number of Korean tourists booking Tet tours has increased about 50% year on year, and Phu Quoc island of Vietnam is among the most attractive destinations for them during the approaching holidays.

Grasping the taste of holidaymakers from the RoK, many tourism firms and places have also rolled out the red carpet with various interesting products.

Thai Phuong Hoa, General Director of Sun World – the entertainment brand of Sun Group, told the Lao dong (Labour) daily that the company has introduced a wide range of novel experiences in Phu Quoc such as Cau Hon (Kiss Bridge), a night market, and a multimedia show named “Kiss of the Sea” with fireworks all year round.

Hoa believed that Korean tourists, especially festivalists, will love these activities.

In 2023, nearly 3.6 million visitors from the RoK chose Vietnam as their holiday destination, becoming the biggest source of international tourists in the Southeast Asian nation. Vietnam’s visa exemption policy was considered a plus of its attractiveness to Korean travellers.

Chairwoman of HanaTour Song Mi-sun said her company will strive to help raise the number of Korean visitors to Vietnam this year to 6 million. Apart from popular destinations of Koreans, it will open tours of other places like Sa Pa township in the northern province of Lao Cai.

In addition to coastal cities like Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc, tourists from the Northeast Asian country are now also choosing mountainous areas of Vietnam to explore, particularly Sa Pa.

Yong Sung-ok, head of the Southeast Asian division at HanaTour, noted Vietnam has become a popular destination and the most searched one among Korean travellers in the recent past.

Despite prolonged economic recession impacts, Koreans are currently ready to spend big on luxury seats on flights.

Vietnam was the destination with the biggest volume of business class tickets purchased by Korean passengers in 2023, according to statistics about last year’s flight ticket revenue in the RoK released by the country’s biggest e-marketplace Gmarket./.
VNA

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