The holiday travel rush is in full gear as the New Year and Lunar New Year (Tet) 2023 are approaching. Hence, there will be a significant increase in the demand for air, road and rail tickets for the New Year and Lunar New Year (Tet) 2023 as the two holidays are too close together. In addition, ticket demand increases for 2023 Tet break come sooner than in previous years as a large number of employees have been forced to take earlier Tet holiday and a longer break as their companies faced production order shortages.

Vietnam Airlines Group will add more than 1,500 flights or 224,000 seats to meet increasing travel demand before, during and after Tet.(Photo: VNA)

Therefore, many passenger coach operators have launched their Tet tickets earlier than previous years.

A representative of the Son Tung Bus Company said that bus tickets for Tet on the Da Nang - Nghe An route have been opened for sale since early December. So far, the company has witnessed a 45% rise in the number of its Tet bus ticket buyers compared to last year although they have only purchased tickets over the phone.

The Da Nang Transportation and Bus Station Management Joint Stock Company is making great efforts to ensure that vehicles are secure enough for the New Year and Lunar New Year 2023 holidays with passenger numbers forecast to increase by about 50% from the previous year. Most passengers will travel over the parts from Khanh Hoa to Nghe An during the holidays. Coach tickets for the upcoming Tet Festival will go up by 40-50% from previous years.

According to the Da Nang Railway Station, there is a sharp rise in the demand for Tet train tickets but there is no scarcity of such tickets. Passengers can still purchase train tickets for days leading up to Tet as these tickets are available to buy online or from a ticket office.

In Da Nang, the railway sector has till date only sold a total of 3,000 train tickets for Tet, and the number of tickets for the holiday is still quite large for passengers. The railway sector will operate additional train TN32 between Da Nang and Ha Noi on January 19 (the 28^th day of the 12^th Lunar Month) while an extra D1 train will run on the Da Nang - Saigon route on January 25 (the 4^th day of the 1^st Lunar Month) in order to prepare for a surge in passengers over Tet.

Thus, there is no scarcity of train and bus tickets for Tet to meet growing travel demand during the holidays as a large number of people will take to the roads, skies and rails for the holiday .

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has asked domestic airlines to increase their flights within the frame time between 9:00am and 2:55pm, and between 6:00pm  and  9:55 pm, from January 6 until February 5, 2023.

Currently, domestic airlines say that they are better prepared to handle the holiday travel rush for Tet as air tickets are forecast to be "hot" due to increased travel demand. Vietnam Airlines Group, including Pacific Airlines, Vasco, Vietnam Airlines, will continue to operate additional 1,500 flights offering 224,000 seats in total to such destinations as Ha Noi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Hue, Quang Nam, Buon Ma Thuot, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc.

Reporting by THANH LAN – Translating by H.L