Travel companies in HCMC report lower than expected tour bookings ahead of the extended Southern Liberation Day holiday, according to local agencies.

Lua Viet, Fiditourist and VYC among other travel companies said their sales have not hit the numbers that they had predicted weeks ago.

Many factors have contributed, including what is seen as an unreasonable increase in hotel room charges, said travel agencies.

Many hotels at tourist attractions including Nha Trang, Dalat and Phan Thiet have taken the holiday as a chance to double their room charges as tourism boomed on the holiday in previous years.

Also, locals have reconsidered plans due to overcrowding of sites, common on weekend holidays like the April 30^th Liberation Day as many travel companies have grossly exaggerated tour bookings.

Faced with the declining booking numbers, local travel agencies are likely to lose their deposits at hotels if they cannot receive sufficient tour bookings as predicted.

Hotels in the Central Highland city of Dalat announced full occupancy during the holidays three weeks ago but now rooms are available as many tour organizers have canceled their contracts.

Reported by Cam Nhi amp; Lam Vien – Translated by T.H.

A performamce to celebrate Liberation Day in Da lat (Photo: SGGP).

– Da Lat formally became a Grade-1 city at a ceremony held at the citys Peace Square on April 29.

To achieve the status, a city should meet such criteria as having a population of at least 500,000, a density of 12,000 people a square kilometer, and 85 percent of the workforce involved in non-agricultural activities.At the ceremony, which also celebrated Liberation Day, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung announced the decision in front of Da Lat leaders.

He said it was their mission to develop Da Lat into a major cultural, economic, and tourist center.

The function also saw cultural events like Peach blossom City and Da Lat, a City of the Flower Festival, featuring more than 1,000 actors and actresses, 20 flower-decked bicycles, and fireworks.

Da Lat, stretching more than 400 square kilometers on the Lang Biang highlands, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. It is a major producer of vegetables and flowers, annually turning out around 170,000 tonnes of vegetables, of which 35,000 tonnes are exported.

It also produces around 540 million flower stems annually, including 33.3 million for export.

VietNamNet/SGGP