A newly released survey of qualified travellers from first-tier cities in China analyses Chinese inbound tourism demand to Vietnam.

 

Nearly half of the respondents want to travel abroad this year, with 45% interested in travelling specifically to Vietnam.

Post Covid-19 Chinese travellers are looking at more mainstream, well-known destinations with top Vietnam picks being Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nha Trang/Cam Ranh Bay and Halong Bay.

81% of younger travellers say they would choose independent travel as opposed to group tours. This fact, coupled with younger Chinese booking travel digitally via WeChat and Fliggy is a new twist in Vietnam’s marketing to China inbound tourists.

Domestic travel leads

“Of equal importance is to understand that at the moment, and in the coming months, domestic travel and tourism will define the gradual recovery process. What is significant about the China Vietnam Survey is who are the immediate post-crisis travellers and how can hotels and tourism stakeholders proactively meet their needs. We see a parallel trend in early travellers both domestically and from the China data, which pair up in a new tourism visitor profile,” said Barnett.

Delivering Asia Communications CEO, David Johnson added: “A 360 view of the results from over 1,000 qualified respondents conclude that tourism for the remainder of the year will be heavily leveraged by younger travellers in the age range of 20 to 29 years old, who increasingly place emphasis on booking hotels on digital platforms.

“Two other significant trends from our China research showed that aside from sightseeing and eating being key activities, nature moved up in preference, which could be a reaction to a post-crisis change in tourism values. Diving into accommodation preferences, the two ends of the price spectrum of budget/economy and five-star hotels drew most positive responses from the Chinese surveyed,” he said.