Car rental prices in Vietnam rise by up to 50% around Tet
Thursday, February 04, 2016, 17:33 GMT+7
The cost of rental cars has surged by up to 50 percent as the Lunar New Year nears, local travel agencies have said.
The price of renting four-wheel transport vehicles during the Tet holiday has risen by between 30 and 50 percent for journeys from February 8 to February 22, which falls between the first and 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar.
A common rental car for general travel, including Innova, Vios, Laceti, Matiz, and the like currently cost between VND800,000 (US$35.88) and VND1 million ($44.86) per day, which is about 30 percent higher than usual.
On ordinary days, these cars cost about VND650,000 ($29.15) per day, according to a manager of a car hire company in Cau Giay District, Hanoi.
For more luxurious models, prices will increase to VND2 million ($89.72) instead of VND1 million ($44.86) for one day’s rental, which is a 50 percent rise, the manager said.
Most visitors rent transport means to travel to Vung Tau, a coastal city in the southeastern region, Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province, located in the south-central province, and Da Lat, a resort city in the Central Highlands, said Hoang Ngoc Quang, director of a travel transport cooperative in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City.
According to rental car agencies in Vietnam, rental prices on days before Tet, which is what Vietnamese people call the Lunar New Year festival, are much cheaper than those of the days near or right on the occasion.
Tet, falling on February 8, is one of Vietnam’s traditional celebrations whose meaning honors family reunion and recreation.
During the time surrounding the date, some families love to travel while others decide to visit pagodas or return to their hometowns, expressing the best wishes for one another and showing gratitude to ancestors.
