Lookatvietnam – Although the fifteenth day of the first lunar month when the most important religious rite will be held annually, has not yet arrived, pilgrimage tours to pagodas in Viet Nam have attracted a large number of tourists,

Pilgrimage tours this year began earlier than in previous years in order to meet the demands of tourists. The number of tourists increased about 15 per cent over last year. (Photo: VNN)

One representative of the Hanoitourist Company said that 150 tourists booked pilgrimage tours to Perfume Pagoda (Chua Huong) on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which fell on January 26.

According to Vietravel, the company also took many groups of tourists to visit Yen Tu Pagoda in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh and Ba Chua Xu Temple in the southern province of An Giang.

Some other travel companies also introduced tours to pagodas nationwide for 12-14 days at a price of VND8-12 million (US$457-686) per tourist.

Many companies combined different activities in the pilgrimage tours.

For example, in tours to Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh Province, tourists not only visited many pagodas and temples, but also travelled to Moc Bai Border Gate in order to go shopping in the duty - free shop and enjoy the province’s specialties.

Moreover, Nguyen Nhu Hoa, director of the Quynh Giang Tourism Company, said that the number of people who rented cars or took a bus to visit pagodas rose by 25 per cent against last year. This led to a 20 per cent increase in the price of car rentals compared to time during the rest of the year.

(Source: Viet Nam News)