This photo shows the first direct flight of Colorful Guizhou Airlines from Guiyang to Hanoi of Vietnam at Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Aug. 31, 2024. Photo: Xinhua
Vietnam welcomed a record number of tourists in the first quarter, with Chinese visitors leading the pack at nearly 1.6 million, local media outlet VietNamNet reported on Monday.
More than 6 million international tourists visited Vietnam, a 30 percent year-on-year increase, the report showed. Chinese and South Korean visitors led the top source markets, with a combined total accounting for 47 percent of all international arrivals.
Significantly, the report said that the main driver of growth was the number of Chinese tourists, which saw a remarkable 78.3 percent year-on-year increase.
Cross-border transportation between China and Vietnam is well-developed, with notable progress in railway connectivity and the optimization of cross-border road networks, an industry observer said, noting that this has effectively accommodated the surge in travel demand driven by shifting preferences among Chinese tourists.
Seasonal factors also contributed, as cooler temperatures in China during the first quarter often prompt Chinese tourists to opt for Southeast Asian destinations in their overseas travel plans, Zhang Lingyun, professor and the executive editor-in-chief of the Tourism Tribune, told the Global Times.
Amid growing demand, there is also a rising number of new flights launched between the two countries.
Vietnamese local carrier VietJet Air has launched four new direct flight routes connecting Beijing and Guangzhou with Vietnam's major cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, aviation industry information site cnair.com reported on Wednesday.
The Beijing-Hanoi route, which now operates three times a week, will be upgraded to a daily service starting on April 27, according to the report. Additionally, a new Shanghai-Hanoi route is set to launch on April 29, with daily flights.
Xiamen Airlines on March 30 launched a regular round-trip service between Fuzhou in East China's Fujian Province and Hanoi, marking the 60th scheduled route between China and Vietnam, China Media Group reported. Fuzhou also became the 20th Chinese city to operate direct flights to Vietnam, according to the report.
Vietnam serves as the partner country for China's first national cross-border tourism cooperation zone, which officially began operations on October 15, 2024, according to a post on the official website of the culture and tourism department of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Under the program, tourists from both countries can join cross-border tours through group bookings, fixed itineraries, limited-time and quota-based entries, and group-in/group-out arrangements, the post said.
