Tour operators and travel agencies are
preparing to welcome tens of thousands of foreign tourists for the nation’s
biggest traditional festival, the Tet.

Foreign tourists take part in a banh chung wrapping competition organised at the Sea Horse Resort in Phan Thiet City’s Mui Ne in the central province of Binh Thuan. The competition is one of the activities to interest tourists in traditional Tet holidays. (Photo: VNS)

The tour
packages are aimed at ensuring the cosy reunion of people over Tet. Packages
were also designed to attract foreign visitors to explore festivals held
exclusively for the occasion.

Saigontourist Marketing Manager Doan Thi Thanh Tra said the influx would begin
on January 26.

“So far,
more than 8,500 tourists have booked with the company,” Tra said.

Tours
were an ideal introduction of Tet to foreigners, Tra said. For example, the
Mekong Delta Tet tour includes a stop at a local household, specialising in
floriculture, a traditional lunch with the family and a lesson on how to cook
traditional cookings. In addition, hotels and restaurants under the company had
prepared special menus for the first four days of Tet, she said.

A
Vietnamtravel marketing department representative, Duong Mai Lan, said the most
popular destinations during Tet were Hoi An, Da Nang and the Mekong Delta.

Lan said
tours included a Vietnamese-style celebration of the Lunar New Year where
traditional dishes, including square glutinous rice cakes and lean pork paste,
are served.

This
year, Viet Nam expects to receive 5.3 million overseas visitors.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News