NANNING: Vu Thi Sen, a 20-year-old tourist from northern Vietnam, arrived at the Youyiguan border gate in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday with three of her friends to begin their trip in China.
“I have been to China many times and visited Nanning and Shanghai. I like to travel to China with my families or friends during my spare time,” said Vu Thi Sen.
“This trip to China happens to fall on the Spring Festival holiday, so we can take this opportunity to experience the Chinese Lunar New Year and be part of the festivities,” she added.
The Chinese people celebrate the eight-day Spring Festival holiday which started on Feb. 10, by reuniting with their family and friends. Many people opt to travel during this holiday, and cross-border tourism also booms.
The holiday will be the first travel peak in the Chinese Lunar New Year, and the tourism market will highlight a rapid growth in outbound travel, according to a report released by Ctrip, a leading travel platform in China. Southeast Asian countries are the most popular for outbound travel destinations during this holiday, the report said.
However, as the number of Chinese and Vietnamese tourists traveling to both sides increase remarkably, Guangxi, which borders Vietnam, has been experiencing a significant surge in cross-border tourism before the Spring Festival.
“As the Spring Festival is approaching, we are expected to see a new round of peaks for the inbound and outbound passengers at the port,” said Xiong Chuzhou, an official with the Youyiguan immigration inspection station, before the holiday.
During the holiday, Xiong said they expect 40,000 departures and arrivals at the border gate for cross-border tourism, and the immigration authorities have taken measures to ensure passport inspection is efficient. The China-Vietnam Detian Waterfall cross-border tourism cooperation zone, which began its trial operation on Sept. 15, 2023 in the border city of Chongzuo in Guangxi, witnessed an increase in the number of tourists from China and Vietnam during the holiday. –Agencies
