The HCMC government should take preventive measures against zero-dollar tours given recent surges in Chinese tourists to the city.

Chinese tourists are seen in HCMC 

China has become the largest source market for the HCMC tourism sector since 2017. This is a positive sign but this market is infamous for its cheap tours which affect the quality of services on one hand, and contribute little to tourism revenue on the other.

Therefore, the local tourism sector should take measures to put such tours under control.

The majority of zero-dollar tours are seen in the northern province of Quang Ninh and the south-central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, said Tu Quy Thanh, director of Lien Bang Travelink.

Thanh said these localities are favorable destinations for Chinese tourism companies to sell their open tours, and launch their own retail stores so that their customers go shopping there. As such, all revenues from travel services to shopping or dining are collected by such Chinese companies, benefiting local service providers little, Thanh told the Daily.

In addition, he said, these companies are inclined to team up with local partners to offer this kind of service. Many domestic companies are inexperienced in the market, so they are easily lured into cooperating with Chinese partners.

Therefore, according to Thanh, those are the issues that the city’s tourism sector should address to improve its service and management quality.

Meanwhile, HCMC has many large shopping malls and experienced tourism companies, so optional or open tours in the city make up a modest proportion compared with other provinces and cities, he said.

As such, zero-dollar tours have yet to appear in HCMC, despite increasing Chinese tourist arrivals. However, there have been warning signs for local authorities to come up with preventive measures.

For example, some Chinese companies have injected their money into ailing domestic partners and dictate local firms to offer certain tourism services in exchange for a fee or commission. In some cases, domestic companies are solely responsible for legal procedures while their partners are in charge of all tourism services and thus all revenues.

China overtook Japan and the United States as the largest source market for the HCMC tourism sector in 2017. Data of the municipal Tourism Department showed that Chinese tourist arrivals to the city amounted to 600,000 last year, up 200,000 against the previous year.

SGT