On February 27, digital travel platform Agoda revealed a significant rise in the number of Chinese tourists to Viet Nam during the recent Lunar New Year- one of the peak travel periods in the Asia Pacific calendar.

The findings, based on the Lunar New Year 2024 Agoda booking ranks, indicate a robust start to the year for Viet Nam.

When comparing the number of accommodation searches during the Lunar New Year Holiday 2024, Viet Nam saw growth in Chinese visitor arrivals reaching 95 per cent of the 2020 figure, showing that Viet Nam’s tourism continues its robust recovery, nearing pre-pandemic levels.

Chinese tourists visiting the Ho Chi Minh City Post Office. Photo: Baotintuc.

In 2020, the strong affinity Chinese travellers held for Viet Nam’s rich cultural heritage and scenic landscapes led to China leading Viet Nam's inbound search tourism ranks. However, the onset of lockdowns in 2021 caused a plunge in Chinese visitors. Due to Viet Nam’s cautious border reopening to Chinese visitors, 2022 and 2023 witnessed only 3 per cent of the 2020 search levels.

Mr. Vu Ngoc Lam, the Director of Agoda in Viet Nam, said that data published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism showed that mainland China was the largest source of overseas visits to Viet Nam in 2019 which is considered the golden period of the country’s tourism as Chinese tourists accounted for nearly one-third of the total international visitor arrivals to the country in that year.

The surprising rise in Chinese visitor arrivals to Viet Nam during the recent Lunar New Year showed promising signs of recovery in the country's tourism industry in 2024. Along with that, Viet Nam has also succeeded in attracting tourists from emerging international tourist sources, including India and South Korea after reopening its borders thanks to its favorable visa policies.

Agoda's search data showed that Chinese tourists chose Viet Nam as their favorite travel destination due to the country’s rich culture and its beautiful landscape.

Agoda also shared Viet Nam’s five best places that are hot favorites of Chinese travellers in 2024 so far. The recent Lunar New Year has seen Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, and Nha Trang leading the pack as the top Vietnamese destinations attracting Chinese tourists. Following closely are Da Nang and Phu Quoc Island completing the top five places to visit in Viet Nam for Chinese tourists while Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Phan Thiet made it onto the list of the top 5 places to visit in Viet Nam in 2020 for these tourist.

Agoda, a digital travel platform, helps anyone see the world for less with its great value deals on a global network of 4M hotels and holiday properties worldwide, plus flights, activities, and more. Agoda.com and the Agoda mobile app are available in 39 languages and supported by 24/7 customer support.

Headquartered in Singapore, Agoda is part of Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG) and employs more than 6,900 staff in 26 markets, dedicated to leveraging best-in-class technology to make travel even easier.

Reporting by BAO TIN TUC – Translating by H.L