Tourism hotspots like Da Lat, Nha Trang, and Lao Cai witnessed a crippling hotel-room shortage during Tet as holiday-makers took advantage of the long holiday season to travel.

Foreign tourists enjoy a walk on a street in Nha Trang City in Tet 2009.

By the evening of January 24 – Tet was on the 26th this year — most rooms in Da Lat had been taken.

Luxury hotels like Palace, Bluemoon, Sammy, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, and Golf 3 said customers had made reservations several weeks earlier.

Some small hotels took advantage of the rush and hiked their tariffs by up to 50 percent.

Nha Trang saw a large number of visitors flocking from Ho Chi Minh City and people not making reservations in advance had to pay 50 percent more or even double.

The Lao Cai Province Department of Culture, Information and Tourism said January 29 there had been a severe room shortage during Tet following the arrival of 1,000 Chinese visitors.

But it also sent a positive signal to the tourism industry in the province and the whole country.

During the first four days of the New Year, Quang Ninh Province, where Hạ Long Bay is located, welcomed 20,000 international tourists, with 4,000 arriving by sea.

The province expects to receive 4.8 million tourists this year.

VietNamNet/SGGP