VIETNAM TOPS SOUTHEAST ASIA IN ATTRACTING CHINESE TOURISTS

Passengers wait for check-in procedures at the international terminal at Tan Son Nhat airport in HCMC - PHOTO: HUU CHUONG

HCMC – Vietnam led Southeast Asia in attracting Chinese tourists in 2025, with 5.3 million visitors coming from China, up more than 41% from a year earlier, making the market a key growth driver for the Vietnamese tourism sector.

According to China Trading Desk, a travel technology and marketing firm, Chinese travelers are expected to make between 165 million and 175 million outbound trips this year, compared with about 155 million trips in 2025.

South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand are forecast to be the three most favored destinations, thanks to their proximity to China, convenient air connections and diverse tourism offerings.

Data from the National Statistics Office showed Vietnam welcomed around 21.2 million international visitors in 2025, up 20% year-on-year and surpassing the pre-Covid-19 level of 18 million arrivals recorded in 2019.

The strong recovery was largely driven by major source markets, with China remaining Vietnam’s largest, accounting for roughly 25% of total international arrivals.

With 5.3 million Chinese tourists, Vietnam overtook Thailand as the most popular destination for Chinese travelers in Southeast Asia. Thailand received about 4.5 million Chinese visitors.

To support tourism growth, Vietnam has introduced a number of measures, including expanding visa exemptions and extending the maximum length of stay to 45 days. These policies have also helped lift arrivals from several European markets, with visitors from Poland rising 43% and those from the U.K., France and Italy increasing by around 20%.

Source: The Saigon Times