Chinese tourists like the central region of Việt Nam and prefer sports activities and entertainment by the sea. — baokhanhhoa.vn

HÀ NỘI — Aviation enterprises now have a great opportunity to increase revenue as China has put Việt Nam on a pilot list to open to group tours from March 15.

Responding to VTC News, a representative of the country's national airline, Vietnam Airlines, said that it has prepared resources to welcome visitors from China.

"Early on, we prepared to welcome the recovery of Chinese tourism," a representative of Vietnam Airlines said. "As soon as China eased flight permits and isolation conditions in December last year, Vietnam Airlines reopened flights connecting Hà Nội, HCM City to Guangzhou, Shanghai.

"The airline has increased the frequency of flights connecting Hà Nội, HCM City with Guangzhou and Shanghai, and at the same time resuming the Hà Nội – Beijing route this month.”

In the following months, the airline will reopen four routes, including Đà Nẵng and Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu; and Hà Nội and Chengdu.

Vietnam Airlines is also considering a route connecting Hà Nội with Daxing airport, Beijing.

Vietnam Airlines served 8.1 million passengers between China and Việt Nam in 2019, accounting for 19 per cent of the total number of Vietnam Airlines international passengers and in the top three markets with the largest number of passengers.

Similarly, Bamboo Airways have welcomed the return of tourists.

The Chinese market is currently in the airline's priority development plan. From the beginning of December last year, Bamboo Airways launched direct flights connecting Hà Nội - Tianjin, with a frequency of one flight per week.

Bamboo Airways continues to receive many invitations to co-operate in promoting Chinese tourists from destinations in China, such as Macao and Shanghai, to destinations in Việt Nam, such as Nha Trang, Hà Nội and HCM City.

"Bamboo Airways plans to start operating the charter route Nha Trang - Macao with a frequency of four flights per week and Hà Nội/HCM City – He Kou with a frequency of three flights per week one way from next month," said a representative of Bamboo Airways. "With other destinations, the airline is in the process of negotiating with partners and is expected to launch new routes from May or June, if conditions allow,"

Earlier, Vietjet also said it was preparing a plan to reopen a series of routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Chongqing right after China reopened to Vietnam tourism.

A representative of Vietjet said that with direct flights from HCM City, Đà Nẵng and Phú Quốc to Hong Kong (China) and its network of routes connecting throughout Southeast Asia, passengers could choose many flights.

Dr Lê Đăng Doanh said that China adding Việt Nam to the list of countries that Chinese tours can be conducted would greatly stimulate consumer demand in the aviation, transportation, and accommodation industries, dining and entertainment.

Chinese tourists like the Vietnamese central region and prefer sports activities, entertainment by the sea, cultural services and regional cuisine.

Therefore, Doanh predicted that tourist destinations in the Central region would attract more tourists than other places.

On the other hand, this information also helps airlines and carriers reduce their burden when, in the past, these industries faced many difficulties because the number of international visitors was not as large as expected.

Agreeing with this view, the leader of a travel business in Hà Nội analysed that the spending of Chinese tourists in Việt Nam was always ranked at a high level.

According to the survey results of international visitors to Việt Nam in 2019 by the General Department of Tourism, Chinese tourists spent an average of US$1,022 for a trip, higher than some markets such as Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries.

With this level of spending, revenue from Chinese tourists reached about $5.9 billion in 2019, accounting for 18 per cent of Việt Nam's total tourist revenue.