Many young Vietnamese who do not want to spend Christmas alone pay millions of VND for accompaniment during the holiday.

Millions spent on Christmas escorts 

Companies that provide partners for those who would otherwise spend the holiday alone have been developing in recent years, and demand is only growing.

Kien, head of a construction firm in Hanoi, is too busy with his work and does not have time for love affairs. So this year he decided to hire a partner for Christmas.

“I really don't want to stay at home alone anymore, but I also don’t like joining my friends who already have partners. It makes me feel lonely. So now I'm searching for a paid escort,” he said.

Thuy, an unmarried woman who is head of a communications firm’s public relation department also decided to hire a partner for Christmas.

“If I had to celebrate Christmas without a partner for two years in a row, since my ex-boyfriend and I broke up, my friends would ask intrusive questions," she said.

The director of one of the companies providing such services, Nguyen Xuan Thien, said that demand is on the rise.

"Our client base is up 30% from last year, and they tend to be younger. The average age is from 28 to 35," she said.

Fees have also increased. It now costs around VND1.5 million (USD71.3) for just two or three hours, or VND3 million (USD142.7) for the entire day.

Thien said that his company has already signed dozens of contracts for the holiday season. Some people from Ho Chi Minh City even hire escorts from Hanoi for as long as five days. These contracts are worth up to VND12 million (USD570.8).

The number of female clients is also on the rise. They now account for about 10-15% of the total contracts. According to some of the companies, many of them are women who have returned from overseas, and are newly single. Thien added that pressure from family and friends to get married is one of the major reasons for using these services.

The contracts signed include clauses that ban any "physical or spiritual abuse". The escort is meant only to accompany the partner to celebrations.

There are also requirements for the escorts. They must be good-looking. Men have to be between 1.7-1.9 metres tall, and 55-80 kilos. Women escorts must be between 1.6-1.85 metres tall, and weigh between 45 kilos and 65 kilos.