(VOVWORLD) -China resumes group tourism to 40 countries, including Vietnam, starting on Wednesday. Chinese travel companies are preparing products to grasp opportunities of May Day holiday.
BJST specializes in international tourism for Chinese citizens and began to bring tourists to Vietnam in 2017. During its peak the company brought more than 800 passengers to Vietnam by air every day. During three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, it tried to survive by serving domestic tourism.
 Wu Xing, a representative of BJST of China speaks to VOV |
Wu Xing, a representative of BJST, said: “We’ve designed and prepared products to all tourism routes in Vietnam for May Day holiday. We need a month to run advertisements and promote our tours.”
Data from Ctrip, China's largest online travel platform, shows that the number of Chinese booking overseas tours for the coming May Day is increasing. Particularly for Vietnam, Ctrip's data shows that from January 8 to March 8, the number of flight bookings from China to Vietnam increased 23 times and hotel bookings 22 times.
Tongcheng Travel reports that among 40 countries that China pilots resuming tourism, Chinese tourists are most interested in Vietnam, Italy, Serbia, France, and Spain.
Wu said Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian countries, especially Vietnam, are the main markets for his company. Now as China reopens tourism for 60 countries, but not Japan and South Korea, the Vietnamese market becomes even more important:
"Vietnam is a very important market for us. I strongly believe in the Vietnamese market, including tourism promotion in the Chinese market. I hope the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism support travel companies and facilitate visas application for Chinese tourists, such as visa-free or visa-waiver,” said Mr. Wu.
An HSBC expert estimates that the return of Chinese tourists to Vietnam can reach 50% to 80% compared to before the pandemic, equivalent to 3-4.5 million arrivals.