On May 2, 2026, Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism （MOCT） and Vietnam Airlines officially launched the ‘China Preferred Tourism Suppliers’ program （China Preferred Tourism Suppliers）. The first round of the program focuses on the theme of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage + Study Tours’, with 3 Henan routes, including the ‘Oracle Bone Script Origins · Anyang Study Tour Route’ and the ‘Shaolin Zen Martial Arts · Dengfeng Practice Camp’, entering the technical evaluation list. This move marks a substantive step forward in institutionalizing China-Vietnam cultural and tourism supply chain cooperation, with direct implications for niche segments such as outbound study tour operators, international destination management service providers, intangible cultural heritage content developers, and cross-border education travel channel partners.

Event Overview

On May 2, 2026, Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism （MOCT） and Vietnam Airlines jointly announced the launch of the ‘China Preferred Tourism Suppliers’ program. The first round of evaluation is explicitly limited to the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage + Study Tours’ category, and 3 routes submitted by Henan, including the ‘Oracle Bone Script Origins · Anyang Study Tour Route’ and the ‘Shaolin Zen Martial Arts · Dengfeng Practice Camp’, have been included in the technical evaluation list. Selected routes will receive priority procurement recommendations from the Vietnam Educational Travel Agents Alliance （VETA） and preferential access to local marketing resources. At present, the detailed evaluation criteria, timeline, and final selected list have not yet been disclosed.

Which Sub-sectors Will Be Affected

Outbound Study Tour Operators

Such institutions are directly responsible for route design, faculty allocation, on-site execution, and compliance filing, making them the core counterparts for Vietnam’s procurement side. As the program clearly uses ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage + Study Tours’ as the screening dimension for the first round, whether their curriculum systems demonstrate verifiable cultural depth, educational suitability, and safety management capabilities will become a key threshold for entering VETA’s procurement pool.

International Destination Management Service Providers （including Chinese-funded/joint-venture travel agencies in Vietnam）

Local destination management capabilities in Vietnam directly affect route delivery quality and procurement conversion efficiency. VETA’s ‘priority procurement recommendation’ effectively strengthens the need for endorsement of local fulfillment capabilities, prompting destination management providers to simultaneously enhance specialized service capabilities such as Chinese-language study tour guiding, coordination of intangible cultural heritage settings, and experience in liaising with schools.

Intangible Cultural Heritage Content Development and IP Licensing Companies

The selected routes involve concrete intangible cultural heritage elements such as oracle bone script and Shaolin Zen martial arts, and their content presentation formats （such as teaching aid development, digital exhibitions, and experiential activity flow design） need to align with the actual acceptance level of Vietnam’s educational travel scenarios. Although the current evaluation has not disclosed content review criteria, it has already sent a clear signal that ‘intangible cultural heritage resources need to be translated into educational formats’.

Cross-border Education Travel Channel Partners （including OTA study tour channels and international school cooperation platforms）

Through VETA, the program forms a procurement recommendation mechanism, meaning that educational travel agencies within Vietnam with study tour group organization qualifications will be more inclined to adopt evaluated Chinese routes. If channel partners have not connected with selected or pending-evaluation route resources, they may face practical pressures such as intensified product homogenization and weakened pricing power.

What Relevant Companies or Practitioners Should Focus On and How They Should Respond at Present

Pay Attention to the Subsequent Procurement Guidelines and Evaluation Feedback Mechanisms Released by the Vietnam Educational Travel Agents Alliance （VETA）

As the procurement recommendation body, VETA’s operating details （such as evaluation cycles, veto clauses, and dynamic adjustment mechanisms） will determine the program’s actual coverage breadth. Relevant companies are advised to assign dedicated personnel to track VETA’s official website and related notices from Vietnam’s Ministry of Education, rather than relying solely on information passed through Chinese intermediaries.

Distinguish Policy Signals from the Pace of Business Execution, and Do Not Expand Capacity Investment for the Time Being

The program is currently only at the technical evaluation stage, and neither the results nor the procurement scale have been announced. Analysis suggests that the program is more focused on establishing a screening mechanism rather than generating immediate volume, so companies should not prematurely increase investment in full-time guides, customized teaching aids, or local warehousing and distribution in Vietnam, and should instead adopt a lightweight response approach.

Sort Out the Educational Expression Logic of Intangible Cultural Heritage Elements in Existing Routes, and Prepare Bilingual Explanatory Materials

From an industry perspective, Vietnam’s education side is concerned with whether cultural content can be transformed into learning outcomes that students under 12 years old can understand, participate in, and be assessed on. It is recommended to benchmark Vietnam’s national basic education curriculum framework （such as STEAM integration requirements） and supplement concise bilingual explanations for modules such as course objectives, safety plans, and cross-cultural guidance.

Proactively Connect with Vietnam Airlines’ Branches in China to Understand the Possibility of Coordination on Route Capacity and Study Tour Group Seat Allocation

As a co-initiator, Vietnam Airlines’ flight stability on direct routes such as Hanoi—Zhengzhou and Ho Chi Minh City—Zhengzhou, as well as its group seat reservation mechanism, may become implicit supporting conditions for the subsequent scaled implementation of routes. At present, what is more worthy of attention is whether its dedicated communication channels with Chinese study tour institutions have already been opened.

Editorial Viewpoint / Industry Observation

Observably, this program is currently better understood as an institutional attempt by the Vietnamese authorities to promote the standardization of the cultural and tourism supply chain, rather than a short-term signal of market expansion. Its value lies not in immediately bringing incremental orders, but in the fact that, for the first time, Vietnam’s competent authorities are taking the lead in incorporating Chinese suppliers into its educational travel procurement evaluation system, thereby forming a traceable, comparable, and reusable market entry pathway. Analysis shows, once such a mechanism is proven workable in the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage + Study Tours’ direction, it may subsequently extend to vertical categories such as red tourism, industrial study tours, and ecological scientific exploration. The industry needs to continue observing whether VETA will link evaluation results with the allocation of annual study tour budgets for Vietnamese schools, which will be the key watershed for judging the program’s actual effectiveness.

Conclusion: This program marks the deepening of China-Vietnam cultural and tourism cooperation from the level of mutual tourist flow exchange to the level of supply chain coordination and joint standard building. At present, it is more appropriate to understand it as the starting point of an institutional exploration——it has not yet formed a definite market opportunity, but it has already clearly outlined the direction of structural changes in Vietnam’s educational travel procurement system over the next 3–5 years. Rational expectations, precise responses, and step-by-step validation are the most suitable response logic at this stage.

Information source note：
Main sources: Announcement on the official website of Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism （MOCT）, Vietnam Airlines joint press release on May 2, 2026.
Areas requiring continued observation: The Vietnam Educational Travel Agents Alliance （VETA）’s specific procurement guideline documents, the release timing of technical evaluation results, the first batch of selected route lists, and supporting measures.