Vietnam Group Tour Chinese Market: What Chinese Tour Operators Expect From Local DMC Partners

For many years, when people talked about the Chinese visitor market in Vietnam, most would picture large groups of travelers moving in big tour buses, visiting famous sights, and shopping at commercial centers or local markets. The reality today, however, is changing very fast. Alongside a strongly growing FIT segment, group tours continue to play a central role in Chinese visitor flows to Vietnam. The difference is that group traveler demands are now increasingly complex, requiring higher operational quality and greater capacity for personalization than before.

From the perspective of DMCs in Vietnam, this represents both an opportunity and a challenge. As the market matures, clients no longer evaluate programs purely on price, they are increasingly concerned with experience, service quality, and the operator’s ability to handle situations as they arise. This is precisely why Vietnam DMCs like Phan Van DMC are becoming the choice of international partners.

After many years of working with international partners, I have come to see that very few markets can influence Vietnamese tourism as powerfully as China. Even as global travel behavior has continued to shift after COVID, China remains one of the most important source markets in the Asia-Pacific region and plays a particularly important role in Vietnam’s tourism recovery. What is interesting is that many people still tend to picture Chinese visitors as large groups moving on fixed itineraries.

The reality today is very different. Alongside a rapidly growing FIT segment, group tour programs continue to dominate, but with completely new requirements around experience, service quality, and personalization. From the perspective of a DMC, this is a period in which the market is shifting from a competition on price to a competition on operational capability. Outbound partners are no longer simply looking for a service provider in Vietnam, they are looking for units that can genuinely accompany them, handle situations, and deliver a consistent experience for their clients throughout the journey.

Source: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism; UN Tourism Asia-Pacific Report; Amadeus Hospitality.

According to data from Vietnam’s tourism management authority, China is currently Vietnam’s largest source market. In the first 10 months of 2025, Vietnam welcomed approximately 4.3 million Chinese visitors, accounting for more than 25% of total international arrivals. This market also recorded growth of more than 43% compared to the same period the previous year, the highest among all Northeast Asian markets. Looking at the picture at the regional level, reports from UN Tourism and Amadeus both confirm that China continues to be an important growth driver for Asia-Pacific tourism. The strong recovery of outbound demand from China is driving increased destination searches, hotel bookings, and international tour program purchases across the region.

From a personal perspective, what is noteworthy is not just the volume of arrivals but the quality of the recovery. Chinese travelers today tend to look for a wider diversity of experiences: from beach resort and cultural tourism through local street food and dining, to MICE, incentive, and luxury travel programs. This opens up significant opportunities for Vietnam DMCs with the capability to design specialized products rather than simply offering traditional sightseeing programs.

There are multiple reasons why Vietnam maintains strong appeal for Chinese travelers in recent years. First is the geographic proximity advantage. From major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, travelers can reach Hanoi, Da Nang, or Ho Chi Minh City in just a few hours. Compared to more distant destinations in the region, this makes Vietnam a suitable choice for both short breaks and large-scale incentive programs. Beyond this, Vietnam possesses a diversity of tourism products that not every destination can match.

Travelers can explore culture and history in Hanoi, experience the world-famous street food in local neighborhoods, relax at the beaches of Da Nang, Nha Trang, or Phu Quoc, and enjoy the modern, dynamic energy of Ho Chi Minh City. In my observation, one of Vietnam’s greatest strengths is the ability to combine many different experiences within the same journey. A group can visit heritage sites, enjoy local food, relax by the beach, and go shopping, all within a few days without needing to travel very far. This is a very significant advantage when building group tour programs for the Chinese market.

If group tour programs used to be built according to a fairly similar formula, today the needs of Chinese travelers have become considerably more diverse. Younger travelers are increasingly tending toward independent travel or small group journeys. They proactively search for information on Xiaohongshu, WeChat, Douyin, and travel review platforms before deciding on a destination. Rather than following a fixed schedule, this group prefers free exploration and more locally authentic experiences. Activities such as discovering local cafes, experiencing street food, exploring local markets, and visiting sites that are not yet overrun with tourists are becoming more popular in this segment. However, this does not mean group tours are losing their position.

On the contrary, corporate delegations, multi-generational family groups, incentive programs, and MICE programs continue to grow strongly. As group sizes increase, coordination demands also grow exponentially:  from transportation, accommodation, restaurants, and entrance tickets to itinerary management and real-time issue resolution. All of this requires a solid operational system behind the scenes. In my view, this is precisely the moment when the role of DMCs is most clearly demonstrated. In an increasingly competitive market, clients do not simply need a well-organized tour, they need a partner capable of ensuring that every link in the journey operates smoothly. This is also why Chinese outbound operators are increasingly valuing DMCs with genuine operational experience, a strong partner network, and flexible situation-handling capability in Vietnam.

Before building products for the Chinese market, the most important thing to understand is that not all Chinese travelers are the same. For many years, not a few tourism businesses in Vietnam have looked at this market as a single homogeneous customer block. The reality today is completely different. The development of technology, social media, and online service booking platforms has caused Chinese travel behavior to differentiate very strongly. In my observation, the gap between the FIT segment and the group travel segment is now much wider than it used to be. This forces DMCs to change their approach if they want to maintain long-term competitiveness.

The FIT segment typically consists of younger travelers who have experience with international travel and are comfortable building their own journeys. They proactively seek out information on Xiaohongshu, WeChat, Douyin, and travel review platforms before deciding on their destination. Rather than following a fixed schedule, this group prefers free exploration and local experiences. They tend to be interested in activities such as street food, exploring local markets, experiencing indigenous culture, finding distinctive cafes, or visiting sites that are not yet overrun with tourists. For this visitor group, the DMC’s role is typically not to operate the full journey, it leans more toward providing support services such as airport transfers, day tours, local experiences, or high-quality join-in tours.

In contrast to individual travelers, large group delegations typically have a significantly more complex operational structure. These can be corporate groups, incentive programs, customer conferences, multi-generational family groups, or charter groups numbering up to hundreds of guests. What makes this segment operationally challenging is not the number of guests but the diversity of needs. Within the same delegation there can be multiple age groups, multiple preferences, and multiple sets of expectations. An itinerary that suits younger travelers may not suit older members. An activity that appeals to a corporate visitor group may not be appropriate for a family with young children. This is why group tour programs today demand a level of coordination and situation-handling capacity significantly higher than traditional tours.

Although independent travelers are growing quickly, group tours maintain a very important role in the Chinese market. The reason is relatively straightforward. As the number of travelers increases, operational complexity grows exponentially. Hotels need to be confirmed simultaneously. Transport vehicles must be coordinated precisely. Restaurants must guarantee sufficient capacity to serve. Guides must handle continuously arising situations throughout the journey. From an operational perspective, this is precisely why DMCs continue to hold a central role in the B2B tourism ecosystem. Outbound operators do not simply need a service booking unit in Vietnam. They need a partner who can take responsibility for the full experience of the group, from the moment they land to the moment the program concludes.

For partners looking for a Vietnam DMC for Chinese tourists, the current market offers a range of options with different capabilities and orientations. Some operators such as Dong DMC are known for their strengths in group travel, incentive travel, and MICE, with the capability to run large-scale delegations and a strong logistics system. Lux Travel DMC, on the other hand, focuses more on the luxury travel and private experiences segment, well-suited to high-spending Chinese travelers with personalized experience requirements. Central Vietnam DMCs such as Phan Van DMC are also expanding collaboration with the Chinese market through B2B programs, group tours, customized tours, and destination operations solutions. Other names such as Vietnam Asia Travel DMC, Mango Tiger DMC, and Phoenix Voyages are also known in the inbound travel space, with capability for custom tour design, Mandarin guide support, and growing investment in client experience.

However, in my personal view, selecting a DMC should not be based solely on company size or the list of clients previously served. More important is the ability to meet the very specific requirements of the Chinese market. A suitable DMC needs to have Mandarin-speaking guide teams, experience building Chinese-friendly menus, support for payment via WeChat Pay or Alipay, and a thorough understanding of Chinese traveler consumer behavior during tour operations. Particularly for group series programs or incentive groups, logistics handling capability and the ability to respond to arising situations are often more important than any marketing brochure. Another factor that international partners should consider is legal standing. Working with businesses that hold an International Tour Operator License helps ensure service quality and reduces risks during program execution. At the same time, the trend in the Chinese market is shifting away from the zero-dollar tour model toward quality tours with higher experiential value, creating a significant opportunity for DMCs capable of designing flexible products focused on client experience rather than competing purely on price. For outbound operators looking for long-term partners in Vietnam, sending a direct RFP and evaluating real operational capability typically provides a much more accurate picture than relying on information from website marketing materials alone.

Language is always the first factor that creates a sense of comfort for travelers arriving in a new country. Although the younger generation of Chinese travelers today has better English ability than before, the majority of group tour visitors still prefer to communicate in Mandarin. This is particularly true for multi-generational family groups, middle-aged travelers, or incentive delegations from corporate organizations. In my observation, a guide who speaks Mandarin is not simply playing a translation role. They are a cultural bridge between the traveler and the destination. Stories about history, local culture, and Vietnamese customs and traditions only create genuine value when delivered in the language that the client feels closest to. For this reason, a high-quality pool of Mandarin-speaking guides is becoming one of the most important competitive advantages for DMCs serving the Chinese market today.

Food has always been an inseparable part of the travel experience. What is interesting, however, is that most Chinese travelers do not tend to want to completely change their eating habits when traveling abroad. They typically prefer a balance between new experiences and familiar dishes. Through the experience of serving many Chinese tour groups, I have observed that dishes such as fresh seafood, rice, noodles, dim sum, and items in the Cantonese or Hunan style typically receive very positive feedback. A well-designed program should not focus solely on taking guests to Chinese restaurants, but equally should not force guests to shift entirely toward local flavors. The current trend is a flexible combination of both.

Travelers can experience distinctive Vietnamese dishes such as pho, fresh spring rolls, banh xeo, or local seafood, while also being provided with meals that match their familiar palate at the right moments. Interactive food experience activities such as local market visits, cooking classes, or trying to prepare Vietnamese dishes are also becoming increasingly popular among younger visitor groups. An interesting additional trend appearing recently is international travelers, including Chinese visitors, renting apartments with kitchens and going to local supermarkets to buy ingredients and cook for themselves. This both saves costs and creates a sense of living like a local. For DMCs, this is a trend worth monitoring when designing products in the future.

If language was once the biggest barrier, the payment experience has now become an equally important factor. For Chinese travelers, WeChat Pay and Alipay have become a part of daily life. Most transactions, from shopping and dining to booking services, are conducted through these platforms. For this reason, the ability to support payment via WeChat Pay, Alipay, or compatible QR payment systems is gradually becoming a new standard for tourism businesses serving the Chinese market. From a customer experience perspective, this is not just a convenience, it also significantly reduces the feeling of unfamiliarity when traveling abroad.

Another interesting feature of the Chinese market is the very high level of interest in shopping activities and lifestyle experiences. If previously most programs focused on traditional sightseeing, Chinese travelers today tend to spend more time on experiences that are personal and lifestyle-oriented. Modern shopping centers, commercial streets, local markets, cafe culture, entertainment activities, and premium brands are appearing more and more frequently in tour programs. From a personal perspective, this is a positive change. When travelers start seeking experiences rather than simply seeking sightseeing stops, DMCs will have more opportunities to create innovative products, raise the value of their services, and build more highly personalized journeys. This is also why operational quality is becoming the genuine differentiating factor in the Chinese traveler market today, rather than competing purely on price as before.

The rapid growth of the Chinese visitor market in recent years has not only increased visitor numbers, it has also significantly changed the structure of tourism products. If previously most delegations chose fairly similar basic sightseeing itineraries, Vietnam’s DMCs today are having to build multiple different product categories to meet the increasingly diverse needs of the market. From first-time Vietnam visitors and family resort groups to corporate travelers and the premium segment, each group carries its own expectations around experience, service, and program organization. This makes designing Vietnam group tour Chinese market packages today more complex, but simultaneously creates more opportunities for DMCs to raise the value of their products.

This remains the most popular product for first-time visitors to Vietnam. A standard journey typically combines prominent destinations running from North to South: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City. This model allows travelers to develop a reasonably comprehensive picture of Vietnam in a single trip, from historical and cultural values, natural landscapes, through to the modern energy of major cities. In my observation, this type of tour is particularly suitable for family groups or visitor groups who want to explore many destinations in a short period. It is also the product that most frequently appears in series tour programs sold in the Chinese market, thanks to its relatively comprehensive coverage of Vietnam’s most prominent tourism landmarks.

Alongside traditional sightseeing programs, demand for beach resort experiences among Chinese travelers is also growing very fast. Destinations such as Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc are appearing more frequently in Vietnam group tour Chinese market itineraries, thanks to their ability to combine resort relaxation, entertainment, and activities suited to large group travel. Unlike individual travelers who typically prioritize free experiences, large-scale Chinese tour groups usually look for destinations with synchronized infrastructure: large-scale resorts, capacity to serve big groups, and a wide range of entertainment activities in the same area. Beach and resort packages can therefore also integrate gala dinners, team activities, shopping experiences, or local cultural exploration activities alongside the resort stay itself.

In the inbound tourism field, this is one of the segments with the highest value and the most complex operational requirements. MICE programs for Chinese clients typically combine multiple components including conferences, workshops, team building, gala dinners, incentive travel, and destination experience activities. Unlike standard leisure tours, the success of a MICE program depends heavily on the ability to coordinate multiple service providers simultaneously. For corporate delegations from China, requirements around precision, timing, and situation-handling are typically at a very high level. A small change in the schedule can affect the full program. This is why organizations typically choose DMCs with experience running large-scale delegations, a strong partner ecosystem, and on-site support teams operating continuously throughout the event.

Along with the growth of the middle class and high-income customer group in China, the luxury group travel segment is becoming one of the most notable growth drivers in the market. These programs typically focus on premium resorts, private transport services, VIP experiences, and journeys designed specifically to each group’s requirements. Rather than simply visiting famous destinations, this visitor group cares much more about service quality, privacy, and personalized experiences. From an operational perspective, this is also the segment requiring the highest level of preparation. Every small detail, from room type and restaurant menu to transportation and experience schedule, needs to be adjusted to fit the client’s requirements. Luxury travel is therefore becoming one of the highest-spending and fastest-growing product categories in the Chinese visitor market to Vietnam today.

After many years observing the shifts in the Chinese market, I have come to see that the gap between a program that is “functional” and one that genuinely creates satisfaction for guests lies in the operational capability behind it. Requirements around Mandarin-speaking guides, Chinese meal preferences, WeChat and Alipay integration, and the ability to coordinate large-scale groups all demand very careful preparation from the DMC’s side. For this reason, rather than only looking at the products being sold to the market, I believe that examining how a business organizes and operates its actual programs reflects its capabilities more clearly. From that perspective, the development journey of Phan Van DMC is a rather interesting example of adaptation and service in the Chinese market within a tourism industry that is continuously changing.

When working with international partners, particularly the Chinese market, I have always believed that real operational experience is just as important as any business strategy. A company can build an attractive product on paper, but successfully operating hundreds or thousands of visitor itineraries every year is an entirely different matter. This is also why a business’s development history becomes a factor worth considering when selecting a DMC partner in Vietnam. Before participating deeply in programs for Chinese visitors, Phan Van had more than 20 years of activity in tourism, transportation, and service operations in Vietnam. This period helped the company not only accumulate operational experience but also progressively build a wide partner network across many destinations from North to South. From accommodation systems and transport through to restaurants and local service providers, each relationship was formed and developed through the process of serving actual customers. In my personal view, this is one of the factors that distinguishes a single-service provider from a DMC capable of operating large-scale programs.

If you look at the strong recovery of the tourism industry today, many people might think that the hardest period has already passed. However, for businesses directly operating in the industry, COVID left impacts far more extensive than simply a drop in visitor numbers. The entire tourism supply chain was almost universally affected. Many hotels had to suspend operations for extended periods. Some transport operators reduced in scale or switched industries. Experienced human resources left the sector, causing staffing shortages that persisted even as the market began recovering.

Added to this was cashflow pressure and the challenge of sustaining operations when demand had nearly frozen. For Phan Van, this period was not simply a revenue recovery challenge. Rather than focusing on short-term growth, the company chose a different direction: rebuilding the partner ecosystem, re-standardizing operational processes, and investing more in service quality control. Looking back, it was precisely the most difficult period that became the driver of a comprehensive restructuring. That in turn gave the company a more stable operational foundation when the international market, and particularly the Chinese market, returned with very fast growth rates in recent years.

In my experience, no single factor determines the success of a group tour program. A journey that runs smoothly is usually the result of many interconnected links cooperating behind the scenes. For Chinese visitor groups, particularly large-scale ones, this matters even more because the demands around processing speed, flexibility, and the ability to respond to arising situations are significantly higher than for individual travelers. To ensure operational stability, the company needs to maintain or hold close relationships with a hotel and resort system across the country, a network of Chinese and local Vietnam restaurants suited to different visitor groups, and a diverse vehicle fleet from VIP to limousine serving every group size.

Running alongside this is a continuously operating management system, a team of guides, collaborators, and support personnel across multiple destinations. These resources are what allow programs to maintain service quality even when unplanned changes occur, adjusted flight times, schedule changes, or requests arising from clients during the journey. In the DMC industry, clients typically only see the visible surface of the journey. The real quality, however, lies in the ability to handle the problems that guests should never have to see.

Nationwide hotel and resort network: managed partner relationships with accommodation systems across all key destination cities from North to South

Chinese and local restaurant networks, a curated system covering Chinese restaurant preferences and quality local Vietnamese dining suited to diverse group compositions

Full vehicle fleet and transport partners: from VIP coaches and standard tour buses to limousine services, covering every group size and comfort level

Mandarin-speaking guide and support team: guides, collaborators, coordinators, and on-call personnel providing continuous support across multiple destinations

Local itinerary expertise: updated local knowledge enabling rapid itinerary design covering sightseeing, cultural experience, street food, history, and lifestyle activities

Real-time issue resolution: 24/7 operational support for flight adjustments, schedule changes, and any client requests that arise during the program

One of the common mistakes when developing products for the Chinese market is applying the same program model to every visitor group. In practice, the needs of each segment differ very significantly. A corporate incentive delegation will have completely different expectations from a multi-generational family group. Similarly, a MICE program will differ considerably from resort groups or premium travelers seeking personalized experiences. For this reason, flexible itinerary design capability is becoming an increasingly important competitive advantage for DMCs in Vietnam.

Drawing on accumulated local experience over many years alongside the ability to update quickly with new travel trends, programs can be adjusted to specific visitor groups, from sightseeing duration and cultural experience through to shopping activities, restaurant selection, and additional support services. In my view, the ultimate goal of a group tour program is not simply to complete the itinerary that was sold. What matters more is creating an experience that matches the expectations of each specific customer group. When this is done well, client satisfaction becomes the foundation for return visits in the future and for long-term cooperation opportunities between the DMC and international partners.

The Vietnam group tour Chinese market is entering a new phase of development. If the market was previously driven primarily by visitor volume, today the quality of experience is becoming the decisive factor in the competitive capability of tourism businesses.

The strong recovery of Chinese visitors brings a very significant opportunity for Vietnam’s tourism industry. However, this opportunity also comes with higher requirements around operational capability, product personalization capacity, and genuine cultural understanding of the customer. From the perspective of a DMC, I believe that future success will not belong to the largest companies, but to those with the fastest ability to adapt to the changes in the market.

For outbound partners from China, selecting the right DMC does not only help execute programs more effectively, it also contributes to creating positive experiences for clients during their visit to Vietnam. And in an industry where experience is the product, that may be the most important value a DMC can deliver.

We welcome every opportunity to connect and build something meaningful together.

Read more: Vietnam DMC for Chinese Tourists: Insights & Trends

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