Chinese tourists are more interested in Thailand than Vietnam

Chinese tourists' interest in Vietnam has recovered well but is still lower than some Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Singapore.

Data from online travel platform Agoda shows that from January 2023, the five Southeast Asian markets of interest to Chinese tourists are Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam, respectively.

According to the General Statistics Office, in 2023, South Korea will lead the market of visitors to Vietnam (3.6 million arrivals) and China will rank second with about 1.7 million arrivals - compared to 5.8 million arrivals in 2019.

Chinese visitors to Hanoi in 2023. Photo: Tu Nguyen

Responding to VnExpress , a representative of a business specializing in the Chinese tourist market in Hanoi said that the number of Chinese tourists they welcomed last year was only 10% compared to 2019. The business is working with its Chinese partner to better understand why Chinese tourists do not pay much attention to Vietnam.

Previously, Mr. Martin Koerner - member of the Tourism & Hospitality Subcommittee of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) - commented that Thailand is doing well in gaining market share through its open visa policy. In particular, from March, Thailand and China will permanently exempt visas for each other.

Although not at the top of the list of interests of Chinese tourists, Agoda data also recorded that during the Lunar New Year, the number of searches by Chinese tourists for Vietnam tourism was 95% compared to before the pandemic. From January 2023 to now, the destinations in Vietnam that Chinese tourists are interested in are Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and Da Nang .

Vu Ngoc Lam, director of Agoda in Vietnam, said the search data showed a positive sign for the Vietnamese tourism industry. In addition, Vietnam has also successfully attracted tourists from new markets such as India and South Korea after reopening.

In the first month of 2024, Vietnam welcomed more than 1.5 million international visitors, up 73.6% over the same period last year and equal to before the pandemic. South Korea continued to lead with about 418,000 arrivals, China ranked second with about 242,000 arrivals, followed by Taiwan, the US and Australia.

Tu Nguyen

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/khach-trung-quoc-quan-tam-thai-lan-hon-viet-nam-4716375.html