There is much expectation within the tourism industry on being able to fulfill their goal of welcoming many more international visitors this year and the arrival of Chinese tourists seems to be a boon for the tourism industry in Vietnam that has for long been in hibernation.
On 15 March, Vietnam welcomed the first Chinese delegation after the Covid-19 pandemic. At Huu Nghi border gate in Lang Son province, representatives of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the People's Committee of Lang Son province, and various travel related businesses welcomed a large delegation of 124 visitors for a three day tour of Hanoi and Ha Long, organized by the Phuong Nam Tourism Company. On the same morning of 15 March, a delegation of 38 people from many Chinese localities organized by the Shenzhou Tourism Company in Guangxi of China, completed entry procedures at Mong Cai international border gate for a four day and three night tour of Mong Cai, Ha Long Bay and Hanoi.
On 15 March some airlines said they would resume flight routes to many destinations in China. By the end of March, Vietjet Air has plans to fly to Tianjin, Zhangjiajie, and Chengdu regions of China and also restore other routes before peak summer months. Vietravel Airlines and Vietravel Tour Company has signed contracts with a number of partners to operate charter flights to serve tour groups between Nha Trang and some major Chinese cities such as Hangzhou, Changzhou, and Kunming.
In April, Vietnam Airlines also plans to resume flights to some Chinese cities such as Nanjing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Sichuan. Bamboo Airways has plans to have charter flights between Nha Trang and Macao with four flights per week by April and between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and three weekly flights to Haikou in Hainan Island. Currently the airline is negotiating other destinations and is expected to start operating new routes by May this year.
Many localities are eagerly expecting the return of Chinese tourists to help revive the tourism industry once again. The tour companies in Ho Chi Minh City believe that good strategic preparations and target marketing for the Chinese tourist segment can help in achieving their goal of welcoming five million international visitors in 2023. Similarly, in Khanh Hoa province, most of the tourism businesses are getting ready to welcome back Chinese tourists. The tourism industry in Khanh Hoa province hopes that the return of Chinese tourists will contribute to realizing their goal of welcoming 1.5 million international visitors this year. With positive signs coming from China, the tourism industry in Vietnam expects to welcome around eight million international visitors this year.
However, despite the prevailing joy and excitement to see Chinese tourists once again returning to Vietnam, the tourism industry must still continue to exploit new markets and new segments, because the tourism business is unpredictable and constantly fluctuating.
It must also be taken into account that 15 March is the date when Chinese tourists will be allowed to travel overseas and will flood a number of countries besides Vietnam. The groups of visitors arriving from China may not be the high spenders, so it is necessary to consider and evaluate the problems that this group may have encountered during three years of the pandemic and subsequent restrictions.
