Vietnam is a perfect spring or autumn holiday destination for Chinese travellers, with beautiful beaches and fresh sea air. Lots of people have realised this, and so Vietnam is one of the fastest growing markets for Chinese outbound tourism right now. The great news is that Vietnam is also on the list of visa-on-arrival countries for Chinese travellers. So Chinese passport holders no longer have to go to a Vietnamese embassy to get a visa, but can get one on arrival in Vietnam, or even go online ahead of a trip arrange a visa.

 

While the country hasn’t reached the level of popularity that Thailand is at, bookings for travel to Vietnam are actually growing faster.  2018 saw bookings at 27% above 2017 levels, and we’ve seen an average growth of 35% over the past 4 years just looking at February. There are 30 cities with services to Vietnam, up from 26 just two years ago. The number of routes has grown too, from 53 in January 2017 to 64 this January.

 

The most popular destinations are Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon, in the south of Vietnam and the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi, in the north, especially for those people in Guangzhou and increasingly Shanghai.

 

There’s lots to see and do in both cities, but increasingly Vietnam’s beach resorts are growing in popularity.  Top of that list is Nha Trang with almost daily services there from 5 of China’s biggest cities. People visit Nha Trang for the beautiful beaches and dive sites. Emerging destinations are Phu Quoc, a small island with a relaxed vibe in the south of Vietnam. Intrepid travellers can fly there from Guangzhou and Kunming and it won’t be long before other Chinese cities are connected to Phu Quoc.

 

Chinese airlines provide over half of the seats to Vietnam, with 54% of seats in 2018, meaning there’s lots of choice with home carriers. China Southern is the second biggest provider of capacity in the market, with 28% of seats.

 

There is huge investment going into tourist accommodation in Vietnam meaning there’s never been a better time to travel!