Travel agencies are promoting tours to attract locals and tourists for the coming National Day holiday in Vietnam.

Public workers in the country will enjoy four consecutive days off from September 1 to 4 for the National Day (September 2) celebration, according to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs.

According to travel businesses, people in Ho Chi Minh City tend to enjoy the four-day holiday within the city or neighboring localities as the new school year opening ceremony is approaching, discouraging them from taking their kids on trips far away from home. 

As a result, inner-city and river tours are forecast to be busier.

Local tourists also tend to prefer self-planned trips to tours operated by travel agencies for their domestic travel during the holiday, according to tour operators. 

Pham Phuong Anh, general director of Viet Media Travel, said her company has only reached more than 80 percent of its capacity for the National Day tours, with tourists mainly traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, the northwest region, and Phu Quoc, a touristic island off southern Vietnam, among others. 

Meanwhile, a representative of Saigontourist Travel said that the firm has sold nearly 90 percent of its tours for the occasion, with departure dates from August 29 to September 3. 

The company's domestic tours by air and those to Northeast Asian countries are still accepting guests until the end of this week. 

Saigontourist domestic road tours and Southeast Asian tours will receive guests until the departure date.

Preliminary statistics showed Saigontourist Travel’s domestic tourists this year increased nearly 24 percent while outbound tours rose more than 10 percent from the same period last year.

Tran Quoc Bao, deputy general director of Saigontourist Travel, said that the company has prepared a number of backup spots for guests who come to buy domestic road tours at the last minute.

Although this year's National Day tour market is not so 'hot' as expected, many businesses still believe that places such as Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, and Da Nang will be crowded with tourists, as they are suitable for self-planned travels.

Tran Anh Thi, general manager of Seahorse Resort & Spa in Phan Thiet City, said that his facility has been fully booked for the holiday.

"Since the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Expressway has opened, [thus shortening the travel time], the number of visitors has been spread evenly during the week and is bigger than that on weekends,” Thi said.

“If the prices increase or there are signs of a rip-off, customers will leave.”

According to Nguyen Minh Man, representative of TST Tourist, since mid-August, many families have already gone on summer tours so the market for the coming holiday will not be a boom. 

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