HCM CITY — Tourism authorities of Việt Nam and China will work together to improve the quality of tourism services, develop new tourism products and tour packages, and explore more tourism resources.

Tourism cooperation between Việt Nam and China has huge potential to grow, according to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Ngọc Thiện.

In recent years, China has been the most important source market for Việt Nam’s tourism, Thiện said at a conference on Việt Nam-China tourism co-operation held this week in HCM City.

Last year, Việt Nam welcomed four million Chinese tourists, accounting for 30 per cent of the total arrivals to the country, he said.

Popular tourist destinations such as Hạ Long, Nha Trang and Đà Nẵng receive a large number of Chinese tourists.

The tourism authorities of the two countries have signed several agreements to create favourable conditions for co-operation in tourism and among travel firms.

The two sides will continue to work closely to supervise safety for tourists and suspiciously cheap tour packages, as well as the application of technology for the delivery of better travel experiences.

The charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Việt Nam, Yin Hai Hong, said although tourism co-operation between the two countries had obtained great achievements, there was still huge potential for development.

Last year, China’s outbound travel market raked up 130 million trips, and Thailand and Japan continued to be the two hottest outbound destinations for Chinese travelers, receiving 9.8 million and 7.4 million, respectively.

Since 1996, China has become one of the biggest source of visitors for Việt Nam, she said.

In return, Vietnamese tourists travelling to China last year reached more than two million and the number of trips are expected to continue to grow strongly in the future. 

The two countries should foster exchanges on tourism-related issues such as customs clearance, airline routes, tour packages, exploration of tourism resources and emergency response to facilitate sustainable tourism development of the two sides, she said.

At the conference, travel firm representatives said they hoped that tourism products would become more diverse to meet the demand of various tourist segments and groups.

The conference was held as part of the 14th International Travel Expo HCM City (ITE HCMC) that opened on Thursday at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The three-day expo features more than 300 companies, including airlines, hotels and resorts, travel agents and large corporations, and travel representatives from Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Việt Nam.

The event was organised by the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism, HCM City’s Department of Tourism, Vietnam National Trade Fair & Advertising JSC, and Informa Exhibitions. — VNS