Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. Photo: Synthesis
Effective market connection
With an 8-day, 7-night trip (from March 17 to 25) in Vietnam, the first group of 16 Chinese tourists arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the itinerary, after visiting famous tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh City, the group continued to experience a number of destinations in many other provinces and cities.
Mr. Le Hong Tu, Director of BT Tour Community Tourism and Event Organization Company Limited, said that the return of Chinese tourists is one of the positive signals, supporting the recovery and development of the international tourism market for the tourism industry in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular. To seize opportunities in the international tourist market when countries gradually open up, specifically the Chinese market, travel companies must prepare products, services, immigration procedures... to be able to exploit and connect effectively.
Notre Dame Cathedral from above. Photo: Synthesis
Records in Ho Chi Minh City show that most travel companies, tour operators, accommodation establishments... have been busy launching tours connecting the Vietnamese and Chinese tourism markets. In particular, PSY Travel Company reopened the Ho Chi Minh City - Zhangjiajie - Phoenix Ancient Town tour product for 6 days and 5 nights, with prices starting at VND 16,650,000 million; and 5 days and 4 nights from VND 14,650,000 million. Golden Holiday Company, in addition to introducing tour products serving Chinese tourists, also supports simple immigration procedures such as just needing photos, passports... Golden Holiday Company's China tour products depart weekly, with flexible times, suitable for the majority of domestic and foreign tourists.
According to the business community in Ho Chi Minh City, it is expected that in March 2023, there will be more Chinese tourist groups coming to Ho Chi Minh City, and April 2023 could be the peak time marking the return of Chinese tourists to the Vietnamese market. Conversely, Chinese tourists will also start and increase, contributing to stimulating tourism demand in the tourism market of the two countries in the coming time.
The business community made these forecasts based on the huge demand for tourism from Chinese tourists after about 3 years of being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with Vietnam being one of the favorite destinations of the people of this country. In addition, in order to anticipate market trends and effectively connect the Vietnamese and Chinese tourism markets, the Vietnamese business community has invested in and built high-quality products and services with orientation for each tourist segment.
Promoting tourism attraction
Accompanying the business community, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism has just coordinated with the People's Committee of Zhangjiajie City and Vietnam Global International Travel Group Joint Stock Company to organize a conference to promote cultural tourism in Zhangjiajie City (Hunan Province, China). At the conference, Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, assessed that China is one of the key markets for the city's tourism industry.
City Post Office. Photo: Synthesis
According to statistics before the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese tourists ranked third among international tourists to Ho Chi Minh City with 1.2 million arrivals (in 2019), accounting for 20% of the total number of Chinese tourists to Vietnam. In the first 3 months of 2023 alone, Chinese tourists to Ho Chi Minh City reached about 49,000 arrivals. Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry always creates favorable conditions to contribute to promoting tourism cooperation between Vietnam and China in general, and Ho Chi Minh City and China in particular.
"Zhangjiajie City (Hunan Province, China) is a destination rich in tourism resources, folk culture, tourism services... and has become an attractive destination for international tourists, including tourists from Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, the Ho Chi Minh City tourism industry expects the Zhangjiajie City government and Chinese travel companies to increase tourism promotion between the two sides. Typically, Chinese travel companies can participate in the Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair 2023 which will take place in September or diversify domestic and foreign tourism promotion and marketing activities of Ho Chi Minh City", Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu added.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Wang Tao, Deputy Mayor of the People's Committee of Zhangjiajie City, said that promoting tourism and culture in Ho Chi Minh City is an important foundation at this time, aiming to promote cooperation in developing tourism products suitable to the tastes of tourists from both sides. In particular, the highlight of Zhangjiajie City is that it has world natural heritages, world geoparks, national forest parks, ancient cultural works, modern architecture... creating attraction for tourists in recent times. The Zhangjiajie City government hopes that through tourism and culture promotion events, it will promote more two-way tourist groups between Vietnam and China, thereby reactivating the "smokeless industry" for each country.
Regarding the import-export sector, a representative of the Chinese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City informed that from March 15, 2023, China has included Vietnam in the second group of pilot countries to resume outbound tourism. The Chinese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City has started accepting tourist visa applications for both group and individual travelers. Visitors to China are required to present a certificate of two doses of COVID-19 vaccination and rapid testing before departure.
Currently, international tourists arriving in Zhangjiajie city still have to take rapid COVID-19 tests before leaving the country. When entering China, international tourists continue to be randomly selected for rapid testing. Some travel companies have proposed that Chinese tourism and cultural promotion agencies quickly remove barriers related to rapid COVID-19 testing, create favorable conditions for visa policies... to soon bring tourists to visit this country. On the business community's side, they have been promoting market connections by solving problems related to tour prices, means of passenger transport, health safety conditions, length of stay...
