During the 5-day holiday of April 30, Sa Pa is expected to welcome 185,000 visitors, an increase of nearly 90% over the same period last year and the highest ever.

Head of Sa Pa Information and Culture Department, Hoang Thi Vuong, confirmed the above information with VnExpress. According to data compiled from tourist attractions in the area, the total number of visitors from April 29 to May 3 is estimated to reach 185,000, an increase of nearly 90% over the same period in 2022 and 2.3 times higher than before the epidemic in 2019. (81,000 visits). During the 5-day holiday, total revenue is estimated to reach more than 630 billion VND, an increase of nearly 116% over the same period in 2022 and 2.6 times higher than in 2019.

Ms. Vuong commented that there are two reasons why Sa Pa welcomed the highest number of visitors on April 30 ever. One of them is that people have a long vacation (5 days), leading to the tendency to choose destinations with many activities and near big cities. Besides, Sa Pa has many new tourism products, especially cultural events imbued with national identity, creating an attractive effect for tourists.

During the 5-day holiday, Sa Pa town holds three main activities: Rose Festival and Street Festival with the theme "Dreaming of Sa Pa", Festival to discover Dao ethnic cultural heritage in 2023, Space WOW Sa Pa display.

According to the town's statistics, this year tourists tend to visit and experience a lot at community tourism destinations. "This is a good sign about the distribution of visitors in the commune," Ms. Vuong said.

The hotel room occupancy rate in the first three days is 95%, mainly in the mid-high-end segment. Community tourism destinations have an average capacity of 65%, with the largest number in Ta Van and Muong Hoa communes.

Food service establishments reach 80% capacity, ensuring to meet the needs of tourists. During the holidays, no cases of food poisoning or price increases or pressure were recorded.

According to Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company, this year Sa Pa welcomed a record number of visitors for many reasons. The weather in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi is hot while Sa Pa is cool, with many diverse attractions and services. This place has many check-in points for young people besides wild places.

Convenient transportation, the Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi route has many flights, so tourists have more options. The Hanoi - Sa Pa route is easy to travel. In addition, the Northern tour program all visits Sa Pa. This is also the top choice of tourists, besides destinations such as Ha Giang and Cao Bang.

Ms. Vu Bich Hue, Head of Communications of Flamingo Redtours, also commented similarly. The large number of tourists coming to Sa Pa is partly due to the increasing investment in infrastructure, many entertainment areas and festivals. Reasonable and economical costs compared to traveling by air are also one of the reasons why customers choose this place.

However, Ms. Vuong also pointed out that during the holidays, Sa Pa still has some problems such as: the problem of street vending (the phenomenon of taking advantage of children for profit) continues in crowded areas. The complicated weather during the 5-day holiday has significantly affected the activities of tourist areas and destinations. Some individuals complained excessively about weather issues (especially local flooding incidents on some roads on the night of April 29), affecting the psychology of visitors to Sa Pa.