New chance
International tourists to Vietnam in the first 4 months of 2023 are nearly 3,7 million; in which, Chinese tourists quickly rose to the 3rd position in the total number of international visitors, even though it has only been open for 1,5 months. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Chinese tourists will recover at a faster rate than other markets due to the large population size; demand is increasing after the country reopened to international tourism. In particular, this market is expected to recover quickly from the summer of 2023, increasing strongly in October and the last months of this year.
Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists tended to prefer beach resorts in warm climates, shopping tours, and famous scenic spots in Vietnam. Thua Thien Hue is not yet a major destination for Chinese tourists, because there are not many large-scale inner-city hotels and coastal resorts, lack of large rooms for large groups of guests as well as complex-style services…
Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of the Department of Tourism, said that according to many tourism experts recently, many Chinese tourists tend to change the way they travel, especially in the early stages of opening. Guests do not go in groups, but in small groups or families. The flow of visitors is mainly young tourists, who love to explore and learn about the culture of a safe destination, not crowded, with health care products...
According to Mr. Phuc, from those needs, this is an opportunity for Thua Thien Hue tourism to attract Chinese tourists in the coming period. It is also a premise for Hue to form more products, services and destinations to meet the needs of a number of other customer lines from China.
Mr. Truong Cong Le Hoang, Director of Viet Trung Tourism and Service Company Limited, which specializes in exploiting Chinese tourists, said that the number of visitors to Vietnam increased, but direct flights to Da Nang in the coming time will decrease. With Hue, the T2 terminal of Phu Bai International Airport has a larger and more modern scale, so it can exploit passengers directly from China. When guests fly directly to, Hue is the middle point, so it will be very convenient to combine Quang Binh and Da Nang and Hoi An tourism. Along with that, Hue was chosen by partners as the destination of the type of educational tourism that is developing strongly in China.
Need more products
New opportunities have been recognized. However, it is necessary to re-evaluate the actual situation, when China has a new open-door policy for tourists, there will still be certain limitations on the form of tour organization. Currently, tourists have a change in tastes, thoughts, behaviors, and ways of traveling. But the "content" of tourism products in Hue itself has not changed much. If you want to attract this billion-people market, new solutions are needed.
According to Mr. Truong Cong Le Hoang, with the advantages of Hue and the change in some needs of tourists, in the coming time, the first 10-15 days of educational tours for Chinese students to study, learn about typical culture, craft villages, etc. will come to Hue. Programs of cultural exploration, cultural exchange, art. Along with that, combined with nature exploration products in Quang Binh, beach resorts in Da Nang, are the services that enterprises and Chinese partners will exploit when coming to Hue in particular and the Central region in general in the coming time.
To connect provinces in China to Thua Thien Hue, it is not possible to do it only on the business side, but it needs the "ownership" of provincial-level agencies and departments to come directly to your localities for promotion. Especially, promoting to open direct flights. Besides, it is necessary to promote the image of the destination better in the markets that Hue targets.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc affirmed that, in order to meet the needs of Chinese tourists, the Department of Tourism and travel agencies survey and study the behavior of guests, see if the above trends change, what else do guests want.
In another development, Thua Thien Hue's tourism industry is communicating with a number of tourism partners in Triet Giang province, China, which is a twin locality to cooperate with Thua Thien Hue to discuss the possibility of cooperation in exchange of guests, developing a number of products suitable for the flow of tourists from some regions of the Chinese market.
Along with the proactive connection, Thua Thien Hue tourism industry is closely linking with the tourism industry of Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Da Nang and Quang Nam, coordinating with a number of businesses in China to organize welcoming delegations with programs to visit Hue in the coming time. Connecting the organization to invite a famtrip delegation consisting of a number of Chinese businesses to explore the possibility of promotion and investment to Thua Thien Hue to survey and evaluate the possibility of staying, products, and destinations suitable for a number of Chinese tourists, in order to build more suitable tour programs to bring to Hue and the Central region.
