Chinese travelers have been flocking to Vietnam

Cam Ranh Airport in Khanh Hoa province was full of Chinese travelers during the Tet holiday. According to a report, there were 30-40 chartered flights a day bringing 9,000-12,000 Chinese travelers to the locality.

Reporters who visited the airport on the morning of February 18, or the third day of Lunar New Year, noticed streams of people following customs procedures.

However, reporters later found that the number of passengers rose even more between 2 pm and midnight.

Colin Blackwell, CEO of Nam Anh Trade and Import/Export company, which offers airport services for foreign airlines, was not surprised when reporters mentioned the tens of flights carrying Chinese travelers to Cam Ranh daily. 

Some Chinese air carriers can provide hundreds of flights and more if the airport is capable of receiving them, he said.

“This (China) is a vast market. No worries about a low number of travelers,” he said. 

Chinese travelers also visited many other cities/provinces. Da Nang City, for example, received 10,000 Chinese travelers during the holiday. 

Nikkei Asian Review cited sources as saying that 6.5 million Chinese people traveled abroad during the one-week 2018 Lunar New Year holiday, and Vietnam was one of their favorite destinations.

In 2017, Vietnam received 4 million Chinese travelers, a sharp increase of 48.6 percent over 2016. 

Blackwell said that more and more Chinese will visit Vietnam, as it as great advantages in geographical position and a high number of tourist sites with warm weather year round as well as safety.

He said that most of the aircraft serving chartered flights were leased from Vietnam’s airlines, and the number of Chinese travelers will increase as Chinese air carriers have joined the market.

Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy chair of the Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa Travel Association, said the Cam Ranh Airport is overloaded. As a result, many flights from China have to be carried out at night. 

Once the new terminal of Cam Ranh becomes operational, slated for April 2018, it may receive 2 million Chinese travelers this year.

China also topped the list of HCM City’s 10 largest tourism markets in 2017. The number of Chinese travelers to the city is expected to rise this year because travel firms have found solutions to the lack of parking seats at the airports.

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Thanh Lich