On 2026年5月2日, Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism （MOCT） officially launched the ‘China Cultural and Tourism Supplier Excellence Program’, with the first round of evaluations focused on ‘immersive study tours on intangible cultural heritage’. Two Henan routes — ‘Oracle Bone Script Origins + Yinxu Handicraft Workshop’ and ‘Shaolin Zen Martial Arts Experience Camp’ — entered the preliminary review list. Suppliers that pass this program will obtain study tour filing qualifications from Vietnam’s Ministry of Education as well as a joint OTA marketing resource package. This creates direct business relevance for outbound study tour service providers, intangible cultural heritage content developers, international study tour ground-handling companies, cross-border cultural and tourism marketing service providers, and other niche segments, making it worth continuous attention.

Event Overview

Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism （MOCT） officially released the ‘China Tourism Supplier Excellence Program’ （Chinese translated name: China Cultural and Tourism Supplier Excellence Program） on 2026年5月2日. The first round of evaluation is clearly limited to the ‘immersive study tours on intangible cultural heritage’ category; according to confirmed public information, the two routes submitted by Henan Province — ‘Oracle Bone Script Origins + Yinxu Handicraft Workshop’ and ‘Shaolin Zen Martial Arts Experience Camp’ — have entered the preliminary review list. Suppliers that pass the subsequent evaluation will receive study tour activity filing qualifications issued by Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and be included in the joint marketing resource package support system of Vietnam’s mainstream OTA platforms.

Which niche sectors will be affected

Outbound study tour service providers

This program marks the first time that the Vietnamese government has established a qualification certification channel for study tours specifically for Chinese suppliers, meaning that the procurement logic for study tour groups from Vietnamese primary and secondary schools may gradually shift toward a ‘filing system + preferred supplier pool’ model. The impact is mainly reflected in the following: in procurement decisions by Vietnamese schools and educational travel agencies, filing qualifications may become a basic market entry threshold; although non-filed institutions may still serve individual travelers or adult groups, it will be difficult for them to systematically enter school-side B2B channels.

Intangible cultural heritage content development and curriculum design institutions

The first round of evaluation focuses on ‘immersive study tours on intangible cultural heritage’, and both Henan routes are characterized by concreteness, operability, and strong hands-on experience （such as oracle bone script rubbing, Yinxu pottery mold making, and instruction in basic Zen martial arts movements）, indicating that the Vietnamese market currently prefers practical intangible cultural heritage products that can be converted into courses and adapted to the cognitive pace of K12 students. The impact is mainly reflected in the following: purely display-based or lecture-based intangible cultural heritage projects will face greater difficulty in implementation; curriculum-based products equipped with standardized class-hour plans, safety guidelines, and bilingual teaching aids will be more likely to gain an evaluation advantage.

International study tour ground-handling and local service companies

The program explicitly mentions a ‘joint OTA marketing resource package’, implying that subsequent traffic acquisition will rely on Vietnam’s local online channels. The impact is mainly reflected in the following: ground-handling providers that lack Vietnamese-language service capabilities, are not connected to local OTA backend systems, and do not have compliant insurance and emergency response plans will find it difficult to fulfill actual converted orders even if their routes are selected; they must simultaneously meet three key requirements: qualification filing, platform integration, and multilingual response capability.

Cross-border cultural and tourism marketing and channel service providers

The specific composition of the ‘joint marketing resource package’ has not yet been announced, but based on the operating practices of mainstream Vietnamese OTA platforms （such as Traveloka Vietnam and Vietravel）, it is expected to include benefits such as homepage featured placements, prioritized ranking for search keywords, and jointly branded themed pages. The impact is mainly reflected in the following: service providers that currently only offer Chinese-language marketing materials or one-off advertising placements will find it difficult to support the coordinated, localized, and long-cycle marketing execution required by this program; they need experience in operating digital channels in the Vietnamese market and the ability to adapt content across cultures.

What key points should relevant companies or practitioners pay attention to, and how should they respond at present

Pay attention to the detailed evaluation rules and timeline to be released subsequently by Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism （MOCT）

At present, only the preliminary review list and direction have been confirmed, while the evaluation criteria, materials checklist, on-site verification method, and final announcement schedule have not yet been released. It is recommended that relevant companies assign dedicated personnel to track announcements on the MOCT official website and by Vietnam’s Ministry of Education, so as to avoid missing the submission or review window due to delayed information.

Differentiate the policy signal levels of ‘preliminary shortlist inclusion’ and ‘qualification approval’

Entering the preliminary review list is a procedural development and is not equivalent to obtaining filing qualifications or marketing resources. At present, this is more appropriately understood as a clear signal of demand-side release rather than a stable order channel already formed on the supply side. Companies should temporarily refrain from large-scale capacity investment and instead prioritize a self-check on qualification compatibility （such as bilingual course plans, proof of teacher qualifications, and the scope of safety liability insurance coverage）.

Start building Vietnamese-language service capabilities and preparing for OTA platform integration in advance

If participating in the program and using the subsequent resource package, it is necessary to ensure that core documents such as study tour manuals, safety notices, and emergency contact information are available in Vietnamese versions; at the same time, companies should review whether their existing partner OTAs include Vietnamese local platforms, or initiate preliminary business discussions with platforms such as Vietravel and Traveloka Vietnam to understand their B2B supplier onboarding processes.

Do not expand dedicated product lines for the Vietnamese market for now, but optimize the ‘filing-ready’ elements of existing routes in parallel

Before the evaluation results become clear, it is not advisable to separately develop customized routes aimed only at Vietnamese students. A more pragmatic approach is: for already operating intangible cultural heritage study tour products （such as Yinxu- and Shaolin-related routes）, supplement course objective descriptions aligned with Vietnam’s educational curriculum framework, add student behavior evaluation record templates, and improve bilingual instructor profile endorsements, so as to accumulate structured materials for potential filing applications.

Editorial View / Industry Observation

Observably, this program currently looks more like an institutional signal than a mature business channel. For the first time, the Vietnamese authorities are using a special program to selectively target Chinese cultural and tourism suppliers, reflecting an attempt to build a more controllable and more education-oriented inbound study tour supply system rather than continuing the previous extensive traffic-generation logic centered on free independent travel and sightseeing groups. Analysis shows, this move is not simply about expanding visitor flow, but about trying to incorporate China’s high-quality intangible cultural heritage educational resources into Vietnam’s domestic quality education collaboration network——which means the depth of cooperation may be greater than that of conventional tourism promotion, while entry thresholds and compliance costs are also rising accordingly. What the industry needs to continue monitoring is: whether the evaluation results will be linked to Vietnam’s 2026 academic year autumn semester study tour procurement cycle; and whether the ‘joint OTA marketing resource package’ will actually be tied to traffic subsidies or settlement commission rebate mechanisms. These details will determine whether the program is a short-term pilot or a long-term institutional arrangement.

Conclusion: this program marks Vietnam’s attempt to use educational cooperation as an entry point to restructure its procurement logic for Chinese cultural and tourism services. Its industry significance does not lie in an immediate increase in orders, but in signaling that outbound study tour services need to shift from a ‘resource-oriented’ approach to a three-dimensional adaptation of ‘qualifications-curriculum-channels’. At present, it is more appropriate to understand this as an advance notice of a structural opportunity rather than an immediate business breakthrough; the key to a rational response lies in identifying the authenticity of the signal, clarifying capability gaps, and making phased preparations for qualifications and services.

Information source note:
Main source: official announcement by Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism （MOCT） on 2026年5月2日 （title: ‘China Tourism Supplier Excellence Program’）
Items requiring continued observation: detailed evaluation rules, final shortlist, specific composition of the OTA resource package, and launch timing