An increase in the number of flights to Nha Trang City is expected to bring more tourists to this popular beach destination in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam for the upcoming holiday, but hotel bookings in the city remain lower than expected.

A representative of Cam Ranh International Airport, located in the province’s Cam Ranh City, said on Friday that many carriers recently revised up the number of flights to Nha Trang scheduled for the upcoming holiday.

Workers in Vietnam are entitled to the five-day holiday lasting from April 29 to May 3 to celebrate Hung Kings' Commemoration Day (April 29), Reunification Day (April 30), and International Workers’ Day (May 1).

Between April 27 and May 3, the Cam Ranh airport will receive 454 domestic flights, up 24 percent versus the same period in 2022 and around 176 international ones, rising some five percent year on year.

Besides, a Saigon Railways JSC representative said the local railway sector will operate 10 more trains on the Saigon-Nha Trang and Nha Trang-Da Nang routes to serve the travel demand during the holiday.

The increase of flight and train numbers would carry a large volume of visitors to Khanh Hoa during the holiday, said Tran Minh Duc, deputy director of Long Phu Travel JSC and vice-chairman of the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Tourism Association.

However, he noted that the province will mostly serve solo travelers or small groups of tourists this holiday, as it received a modest number of large group bookings.

Duc added that his company’s tours sold to large groups was equal to 60 percent of the pre-pandemic level.

The company also reported a decline in the number of visitors from northern Vietnam due to high airfares.

Affluent holidaymakers are inclined to spend their time at resorts rather than traveling in group tours.

Also, given the economic downturn, a number of employers has cut back on expenses and arranged fewer group tours for their employees.

Tourists will opt for short tours and nearby destinations for saving costs, Duc said.

Vu Trong Thuc, sales director at the Champa Island Resort in Nha Trang, said reservations for the period between April 29 and May 1 at the resort have just reached over 40 percent.

Due to low bookings, the resort could not offer as many discounts as it did before. Instead, it will not impose holiday surcharges on guests, while offering them more services, including tours to the Cham Oasis craft village.

The province will see fewer visitors from faraway localities due to high airfares for domestic flights. Tourism businesses are waiting for the arrival of last-minute visitors, Thuc said.

However, it could be impossible for the resort to have its rooms fully occupied this holiday, as the current bookings stay lower than 50 percent, he added.

At some beach resorts in Cam Lam District, they received more bookings than those operating in Nha Trang, but the reservations are still lower than thought.

An Alma Resort representative said its reservations exceeded 90 percent, but bookings this year remained slowly.

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