HSBC predicted in its latest report on Vietnam’s economy that the Southeast Asian country will see a recovery of the number of Chinese visitors by 50-80 percent in 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic volume.

In other words, Vietnam is set to welcome three to 4.5 million Chinese tourists this year.

The increasing return of Chinese tourists following China’s border reopening on January 8 will notably contribute to the growth of Vietnam’s tourism, which can be a key sector for the latter in 2023, offsetting the decline in trading and manufacturing, according to HSBC experts.

In a broader view, the experts believe that the Vietnamese economy will witness a shift from goods to services, which they consider a driver for economic stability despite the trade slowdown.

After Vietnam resumed inbound and outbound tourism in March 2022, its domestic tourism recovered strongly while international tourism, which accounts for 60 percent of tourism revenue, has remained tepid. 

The country welcomed 3.6 million international tourists in 2022, or 20 percent of the volume of 2019, when total tourism revenue made up 10 percent of its GDP.

South Korea accounted for 26 percent of international visitors to Vietnam last year and the U.S. nine percent.

The Vietnamese government aims to attract eight million international visitors this year, with tourism revenue expected to increase by more than 30 percent.

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