Tours to China are in high demand during the April 30th holiday.

Many Vietnamese tourists book tours to China as early as the beginning of April thanks to competitive prices and the beautiful spring scenery of the destinations.

Major travel companies have reported strong growth in tours to China, with soaring demand and booking rates exceeding those of previous years. This indicates that the Chinese market is rising to the top among the most popular overseas destinations for Vietnamese tourists.

Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Director of Marketing and Communications at Vietravel , said that the number of bookings for tours to China has increased by at least 20-30% compared to the same period last year, with many tour groups such as Yichang - Zhangjiajie - Fenghuang Ancient Town fully booked early. Vietnam Tourism also reported that the number of tourists reached over 80% of the planned target for the holiday as of April 9th, a growth of 25-30% compared to the same period last year, according to Mr. Pham Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of the Hanoi branch.

Many tours to China are selling out quickly, even though the main holiday is still almost a month away. Danh Nam Travel's Lijiang tour departing on April 30th was fully booked two months in advance; while the tour departing on April 27th was also sold out a week ago, and the tour departing on April 29th has few seats left. Besides Lijiang, other popular Chinese routes such as Beijing-Shanghai or the single-route Shanghai tour only have 4-5 seats remaining.

Vietnamese tourists taking photos in the ancient Qianmen Street, Beijing. Photo: Vietnam Tourism .

The Yichang - Zhangjiajie - Tianmen Mountain - Sanyou Cave - Fenghuang Ancient Town route is the fastest-selling tour package at Vietravel. Ms. Khanh explained that the appeal of this route comes from the combination of magnificent natural landscapes, ancient architecture, and reasonable prices in the mid-to-high-end segment. Many groups have reached maximum capacity, and the company is actively working with partners to add more slots.

"China is attracting more attention than South Korea, Japan, Thailand, or Europe," Ms. Khanh said, noting that the destinations possess all the attractive elements from diverse prices, cultural depth, magnificent landscapes, and a strong Eastern identity. The representative from Danh Nam Travel added that social media videos of beautiful Chinese scenery on TikTok also stimulate the demand for photo-taking travel among young people.

Kim Anh, a customer from Hanoi, chose a Beijing-Shanghai tour to travel with her family during the holiday. She said she hadn't paid much attention to traveling to China before, but the popularity of TV dramas and many travel videos on social media made her want to visit once. Despite the price exceeding 20 million VND, Kim Anh believes it's still a reasonable choice compared to domestic travel, where costs increase during holidays and experiences are limited due to the influx of tourists.

Not only air tours, but also land tours through border crossings, especially the Lao Cai international border gate deep into Yunnan province, remain popular. Yunnan Group aims to serve 1,500 customers during the April 30th holiday, a significant increase compared to the 800-1,000 customers last year. By early April, they had already received nearly 1,000 tour bookings.

Ms. Hoang Tuyet, a representative of the company, noted that the five-day holiday, combined with the high cost of domestic travel during the holiday season, has led Vietnamese tourists to shift their focus to China. In fact, the price of land tours to China has increased by about 20-30% compared to normal days, but it is still better than traveling domestically by plane.

For example, a 4-day, 4-night tour to Dali - Kunming - Wholesale Snail Market departing on April 30th costs approximately 7.7 million VND; equivalent to a round-trip airfare from Hanoi to Phu Quoc during the holiday. Besides the price, the flexibility to increase seating capacity compared to air travel if demand increases is also a reason why many tour groups prefer overland tours to China.

A group of Vietnamese tourists at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in March. Photo: Danh Nam Travel

Similarly, representatives from Vietnam Tourism stated that tours via the Ha Khau, Mong Cai, and Lang Son border gates have seen significant growth due to lower costs (20-40% less) compared to air travel, making them suitable for longer vacations. Despite limitations such as extended travel times and border crossing procedures, the company has flexibly adjusted departure times, even traveling at night to avoid congestion.

This year, Yunnan Group has observed a shift in tourist trends across the border, with the number of passport-based tours surpassing Honghe Prefecture – a destination that only requires a travel permit. According to Ms. Tuyet, tourists who have visited many destinations in Honghe Prefecture over the past two years are now returning to explore deeper into Yunnan Province or head to Guangxi for new experiences.

Travel agencies consider the April 30th holiday a golden opportunity to effectively tap into the Chinese market, as demand is currently high. However, high demand could also lead to overcrowding at some popular destinations such as Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang Ancient Town, Beijing, and Shanghai during peak season. A representative from Vietravel stated that they are proactively refreshing their products and expanding their routes to areas with unique landscapes and cultural identities that have not yet been overly commercialized, such as Lijiang - Shangri-La or Jiuzhaigou - Chengdu.

Following the April 30th holiday, Ms. Khanh expects the Chinese market to continue its stable growth. The company will launch many new products such as Jiuzhaigou in the summer, Xinjiang in the golden autumn, resort tours in Chengdu, or trendy itineraries such as autumn photography, exploring filming locations, and tours for families with children to keep pace with the new demands of Vietnamese tourists.

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