China has added Vietnam to a list of countries where its tour agencies are allowed to organize group tours, beginning on March 15, an official from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday.

Nguyen Phuong Hoa, head of the Department of International Cooperation under the ministry, said the information was provided by Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Peng Shituan during a meeting with her department on Wednesday afternoon.

This is the second phase of the northern neighbor’s pilot program for resuming outbound group tours.

“The Embassy of China in Vietnam announced the news as the two sides had striven to reach this result," Hoa added.

“The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism will officially announce the information in the next few days.”

Vietnam will get the priority to welcome direct flights from China.

In addition, Vietnamese travelers to China will not have to show proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken 48 hours prior to departure.

They just need to provide quick test results or engage in two-percent random tests.

The Chinese side expected to continue cooperating closely with Vietnam to ensure the legitimate rights of tourists in each country, Peng said.

Hoa said this is the result of the two sides’ efforts and good news for Vietnam’s tourism sector and Vietnamese residents.

The update will help Vietnam and China accelerate the recovery of their tourism cooperation.

After the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism unveiled a list of 20 countries and territories where its tour agencies are allowed to take travelers to, with Vietnam excluded, last month, the Department of International Cooperation worked with the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam on the exclusion. 

The department also wrote to the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism proposing adding Vietnam to the list.

Many delegations of the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism also worked with the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

At the meeting with the Department of International Cooperation, Peng affirmed that the Vietnam-China tourism cooperation was effective before the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing mutual benefits to residents of the two countries and contributing to strengthening their partnership. 

The cultural counselor added that Vietnam’s international tourism recovery over the past time was convincing and encouraging.

He expected the number of international tourists to Vietnam to grow strongly in the coming time.

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam welcomed 5.8 million Chinese tourists in 2019, or some 30 percent of the country’s international tourist arrivals.

HSBC forecast in its latest report on Vietnam’s economy that the Southeast Asian country will see a rise in the number of Chinese visitors of 50-80 percent in 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic volume, or three to 4.5 million Chinese tourists.

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