Starting March 15, Chinese nationals may visit any of 40 nations approved for outbound travel by the Beijing government. According to GGRAsia, a Vietnamese official welcomed the prospect of resumed travel, which ground to a halt three years ago, with the onset of the global pandemic.
Peng Shituan, of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, told China Daily that the two nations enjoyed robust bilateral tourism before the viral outbreak. And the Vietnam News Agency reports that China was Vietnam’s largest source market for tourists prior to Covid-19. In 2019, 5.8 million Chinese visited Vietnam, or 30 percent of foreign tourists. Some 4.5 million Vietnamese traveled to China in the same year, according to the news outlet.
In addition to Vietnam, other countries on the China-approved list also have casinos, including Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Last fall, both Vietnam and Cambodia agreed to join China in its fight against cross-border gambling, including online gambling.
South Korea, a frequent travel destination for Chinese before the pandemic, has not yet been approved by China for group tours.
