On April 15, 2026, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the leaders of Vietnam and China officially announced the launch of the "Vietnam-China Tourism Cooperation Year 2026-2027". For the first time in the history of bilateral diplomacy, tourism was placed on the agenda at the Head of State level — not as a supporting sector, but as a pillar of strategic cooperation.

For Vietnam's tourism industry, the message from this event is clear: the market of 1.4 billion people is returning with a different face. In 2025, Vietnam will welcome more than 5.28 million visitors from mainland China, a 41% increase compared to 2024 and accounting for 25% of the total international visitors. The recovery continues in Q1/2026 when the total international visitors reach a record 6.76 million, with China leading with over 1.4 million (Vietnam Statistics Office, April 2026), approaching the peak of 5.8 million in 2019. However, the remaining gap and the subsequent growth will not come in the same way as the previous decade.

Those who worked with Chinese tourists before 2019 were familiar with the image of 45-seater buses and packed schedules. That picture still exists, but it's shrinking rapidly.

According to a September 2025 survey by Dragon Trail International, a Chinese tourism market research organization, 56% of Chinese people planning to travel abroad during the National Day holiday in October said they would travel independently (FIT - Free Independent Traveler), 17% chose private tours, and only 27% opted for traditional group tours. Generational differences were more pronounced in the 18-24 age group, with 71% choosing independent travel.

Even within group tours, the concept of "tour" has changed. Dragon Trail notes that tour groups of 20 or more are becoming increasingly rare. Instead, smaller groups of 4-8 people are becoming more common, with flexible itineraries tailored to individual needs. Guides are also no longer playing the traditional role of leading the group, but rather becoming more of a local companion.

Along with the change in travel patterns, spending patterns are also shifting. China Trading Desk forecasts total outbound spending by Chinese tourists to reach approximately US$280 billion in 2026, up from US$254 billion in 2025, with 175 million overseas trips compared to 167.5 million in 2025, according to Skift in February 2026. The FIT (First-In, First-Out) group of tourists tends to stay longer, choose higher-quality accommodations, and spend more on experiences rather than luxury shopping as before.

At some high-end resorts in Central Vietnam, Chinese tourists accounted for approximately 16% of total stays in Q1 2026, representing a growth rate of over 30% year-on-year. Notably, the average daily rate (ADR) from this group was significantly higher than that from many other short-stay tourist markets.

Most Vietnamese tourism businesses know that Chinese tourists don't search for destinations on Google, nor do they rely on brochures or Chinese-language websites. Their journey of discovering a destination usually begins on Xiaohongshu (小红书, also known as RedNote), a social media platform combining e-commerce, and Douyin, a popular short-video platform in China, and ends within the domestic Chinese digital ecosystem.

Data from these platforms clearly demonstrates their role in the decision-making process of Chinese travelers. Xiaohongshu currently has 300 million monthly active users and generates 600 million searches per day, becoming the leading product discovery tool in China according to aggregated data from QuestMobile and Qiangua Analytics in August 2025.

According to China Trading Desk's Q1 2026 Outbound Travel Report, based on a survey of over 15,000 travelers, Xiaohongshu is the number one travel discovery platform with 54.4% of users, followed by Douyin with 51.5%, and other travel apps accounting for 46.8%.

Notably, 55.1% of the "from discovery to flight booking" journeys go through Xiaohongshu. This suggests that a "shortlist" of destinations and brands is often formed before travelers even open any booking app.

More than just a social network, Xiaohongshu also serves as a search and consumption tool. Users can find restaurants, choose hotels, create detailed itineraries, and order directly on Xiaohongshu. This platform is particularly suitable for urban middle-class women, with nearly 40% of users belonging to the high-income group.

Douyin operates on the logic of speed and emotion. A 30-second video capturing a sunset over the bay, a romantic dinner, or a bride and groom in traditional Vietnamese attire strolling through the old town can quickly go viral and generate a large number of searches for the destination.

It's important to recognize that Xiaohongshu and Douyin don't represent the entire digital ecosystem, but rather belong to the discovery layer. Behind it lies a closed three-tiered structure through which Chinese tourists move seamlessly.

In the discovery layer, besides Xiaohongshu and Douyin, there's Mafengwo – a destination review platform, Weibo with 591 million monthly active users in Q1 2025, and Bilibili for long-form video content. Particularly noteworthy is WeChat with 1.4 billion monthly active users, serving as a messaging platform, social network, and Mini Program system for brands to build their own channels, according to Tencent's Q1 2025 data.

At the booking level, the market is controlled by a group of OTAs. Trip.com Group, including Ctrip and Qunar, holds approximately 50% of the market share; Fliggy (Alibaba) has an advantage in the youth and FIT segments; Tongcheng Travel integrates with WeChat; and Meituan is strong in overseas hotel and restaurant services. These five brands combined are expected to control 89% of China's OTA revenue by 2025, according to Mordor Intelligence.

At the payment level, market share is almost evenly split between Alipay and WeChat Pay. UnionPay plays a complementary role for high-value international transactions.

In other words, a Chinese tourist can watch Hoi An videos on Douyin, read reviews on Xiaohongshu and Mafengwo, ask friends for opinions via WeChat, book a hotel on Trip.com Group, and then pay for their trip to Hoi An using Alipay without leaving any Chinese app. This shows that Vietnamese tourism businesses wanting to reach customers effectively cannot limit themselves to a single platform.

Beyond FIT (Fit-Inclusive Trip), another notable trend in the behavior of the new generation of Chinese tourists is the need to "experience" more than "explore." A survey of over 1,000 people by Dragon Trail International in April 2025 showed that "rest and relaxation" surpassed all other purposes, including culture and cuisine. This represents a significant shift from the familiar image of Asian tourists with packed itineraries visiting multiple destinations in a short period of time.

Behavioral data also clearly reflects this trend. China Trading Desk's Q1 2026 report showed that 74% of Chinese travelers book trips within a month, and decisions are increasingly based on social media content rather than traditional advertising. Approximately 28% have a budget exceeding 50,000 yuan (approximately 180 million VND) for a trip. This group prioritizes unique experiences such as local cuisine, cultural interaction, and tranquil retreats over mass entertainment. The process from attracting attention to converting into a booking can therefore happen very quickly if a brand appears at the right time.

Looking at Vietnam's tourism product portfolio targeting the Chinese market, significant gaps remain. Flexible FIT (Fit-In Experience) packages for small groups are limited; personalized services such as private dining or private tours are not yet widespread; and Chinese-language content on Xiaohongshu from Vietnamese brands is still scarce. Meanwhile, many destinations in the region have rapidly developed products and content to fill these gaps.

The question is whether Vietnamese tourism businesses can accurately identify the characteristics and behavior of the new generation of Chinese tourists, or whether they will continue to approach them with the "mandatory shopping tours" of the previous decade?