Since the beginning of this year, an estimated 30,000 Chinese tourists have visited Hanlong Bay, marking an increase of 25 percent against the same period last year.
Currently, around 400 to 500 Chinese tourists arrive in Vietnam via the Mong Cai Border Gate each day. During the recent Lunar New Year (Tet) Holiday 2009, nearly 1,000-1,500 Chinese tourists were visiting Vietnam every day.
Chinese tourists visiting Quang Ninh Province via other border gates have now reached an estimated 7,000 people. This comes as Chinese interest in traveling to Vietnam during Vietnam’s tradtional Tet Holiday increases.
Before, and after Tet, all hotels in Halong were filled to capacity. Large crowds of Chinese tourists stayed overnight in Halong, but they mainly slept in two to three-star hotels at costs of around RMB 8,00-1,000 per person.
In Lang Son Province, Chinese tourists also queued up to enter Vietnam. Deputy Head of the Huu Nghi Customs Deparment Nguyen Bao Ngoc said that the number of Chinese tourists entering to Vietnam during the Tet Holiday number several thousand. At the Tan Thanh Border Gate in Lang Son, many Chinese tourists said that they were coming to Vietnam to visit relatives and do businesses now that China had officially opened the border gate and relaxed restrictions.
In Lao Cai, statistics showed that nearly 10,000 Chinese tourists entered Vietnam via the Ha Khau Border Gate during the Tet Holiday until February 1st. This was the largest-ever number of Chinese tourists to pass through Lao Cai in only a few days, marking an increase of 30 percent against the same period last year.
Director of the Binh Minh International Travel Center Le Anh Dai said that because Chinese people were taking a longer vacation during the Lunar New Year, and had a custom to travel to the South in the Year of Buffalo, they chose Vietnam as an ideal destination. Moreover, a five package tour to Vietnam only costs around RMB 7,000 per person.
