Overview of the meeting

During the meeting, VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh praised Nanjing as a destination rich in distinctive landscapes and cultural-historical value, noting that it deserves deeper development in tourism product diversification. He reaffirmed that China remains Vietnam’s most important international source market.

According to statistics, Vietnam welcomed 5.8 million Chinese visitor arrivals in 2019. In the first ten months of 2025, the country received 4.3 million Chinese arrivals, up 44% year-on-year, indicating a strong recovery though still short of pre-pandemic levels. In the opposite direction, Vietnamese tourists continue to favour travel to China, especially to destinations such as Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing and southern border-proximate provinces. The growing number of direct flights between major cities in both countries has made bilateral travel increasingly convenient.

Jiangsu alone accounts for roughly one-tenth of all Chinese travellers to Vietnam, while Vietnam ranks among the top six source markets for Jiangsu. Both sides agreed that there remains significant potential for further growth, which should be fully leveraged in the coming period.

Vietnam and Jiangsu signed a tourism cooperation memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2010, although no updated agreement has been concluded since then. Given rising two-way visitor numbers and strengthening ties, VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh proposed that both sides consider reporting to their respective authorities in order to proceed with a new MoU covering the period up to 2030.

VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh gifting souvenir to Mr. Li Chuan, Deputy Director-General of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism

Welcoming the Vietnamese delegation, Deputy Director-General Li Chuan highlighted that Jiangsu covers an area of around 100,000 km², is home to 85-86 million people, and has the second-largest provincial economy in China. He commended VNAT’s strategic vision in conducting tourism promotion events across six of China’s ten major cities, demonstrating Vietnam’s professionalism and precision in destination marketing. He also expressed his desire for Jiangsu to soon organise a roadshow in Vietnam to attract more Vietnamese visitors. Mr. Li voiced his hope that both sides would continue to expand information exchange, enhance cooperation mechanisms and jointly develop leisure tourism and other high-potential segments.

VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh welcomed all proposals put forward by the leader of Jiangsu Department of Culture and Tourism. He emphasised that both Vietnam and Jiangsu have large populations, which together create strong foundations for building a robust and sustainable tourism market.

He stressed that the key task now is for both sides to continue discussions, conduct further study and report to the relevant authorities to finalise specific cooperation areas between VNAT and the Jiangsu Department of Culture and Tourism. In 2025, Vietnam has received many delegations from Chinese provinces organizing roadshows and promotional programmes in Hanoi and other major cities, all of which have delivered fruitful results. VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh expressed his hope that Vietnam will soon welcome Jiangsu delegations and that both sides can look forward to signing a new tourism cooperation MoU in the near future.

Tourism Information Technology Center