Chinese visitors to Vietnam during Tet holiday increase by 35%

Many Asian destinations have seen a rise in Chinese tourists during the holiday.

Japan and Malaysia recorded the largest increases in Chinese tourist bookings compared to last year's holiday, with growth rates of 86% and 79% respectively, CNBC reported citing data from marketing agency China Trading Desk.

A group of Chinese tourists visit Ninh Binh Province in northern Vietnam on January 29, 2025, the first day of the Lunar New Year. Photo by Minh Duong

Thailand saw a more modest increase in Lunar New Year bookings by Chinese travelers, at 19.9%, as concerns over the kidnapping of Chinese actor Wang Xing on the Thai-Myanmar border continue to reverberate through the country.

Wang was rescued from a cyber fraud center in Myanmar last month. He said he was lured to Thailand on the promise of an audition, only to be whisked off and smuggled across the border.

Vietnam welcomed 17.58 million foreign tourists in 2024, a 39.5% increase year-on-year and reaching 97.6% of pre-Covid levels. China was the second biggest inbound tourism market with 3.73 million arrivals.