Tourism awaits visa 'boost'

Opportunity to revive tourism, aviation, accommodation...

The Government Office has just announced the conclusion of the Government Standing Committee at a meeting regarding Vietnam's unilateral visa exemption for citizens of other countries and a number of new policies in the field of immigration management, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam.

Open visa policy will help Vietnam increase competitiveness and attract international tourists.

Accordingly, the Government Standing Committee requested the Ministry of Public Security to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and relevant agencies to urgently implement procedures and complete dossiers to propose a number of policies in the field of management of entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam according to legal regulations.

The ministries reported to the Government to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and inclusion in the National Assembly's joint resolution at the 5th session (May) for 3 contents: Granting electronic visas to citizens of all countries and territories; increasing the duration of granting temporary residence certificates at border gates for people entering Vietnam under unilateral visa exemption from 15 days to 45 days; in particular, extending the duration of electronic visas granted to foreigners entering Vietnam from 30 days to a maximum of 90 days, valid for one or multiple entries. Thus, international visitors to Vietnam can stay up to 3 months and freely visit other countries and then return to Vietnam without having to reapply for a visa.

"Too good! These are the changes that the tourism industry has been waiting for all this time," said Ms. Cao Thi Tuyet Lan, CEO of Viettours Travel and Events Company, excitedly receiving this new information. According to Ms. Lan, after Vietnam officially opened, tourism businesses have actively resumed the market, contacted international partners to quickly welcome guests and restore business activities. However, besides the infrastructure conditions that have not yet "awakened" after the longest hibernation in history, the "entrance" is the visa procedure for international visitors is still difficult. Many Viettours groups are still stuck because the visa application process is tied to many conditions and to do it quickly, they have to go to the Immigration Department to queue very early...

"Currently, our foreign partners are more interested in exploring the market, the number of international visitors to Vietnam has also begun to improve. If this policy is passed, tourists will have a lot more convenience. The tourism industry will develop more smoothly, workers will have jobs, and businesses will escape the brink of bankruptcy," Ms. Tuyet Lan commented.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietravel Corporation Nguyen Quoc Ky called this a boost for the Vietnamese tourism industry if it is approved by the National Assembly at the May session and implemented from June. The visa policy proposed by the Government will help the Vietnamese tourism industry regain its competitiveness compared to other countries in the region. From there, businesses like Vietravel can confidently promote tour sales from now on, with more favorable marketing and communication activities, and build more diverse tour lines to attract visitors to Vietnam. Not only is this good news for the tourism industry, according to Mr. Ky, this is also an opportunity to revive the aviation industry and the accommodation system. The resort real estate market also has a chance to escape from exhaustion.

Tourism waiting for visa bottleneck to be opened | Economic Movement

Which countries should be visa exempt?

After the Government agreed with the Ministry of Public Security to submit to the National Assembly for approval many new policies in the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, the tourism industry is continuing to wait for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit a list of countries expanding the scope of application of the unilateral visa exemption policy.

Currently, Vietnam only exempts visas for citizens of 24 countries unilaterally and bilaterally, only 1/3 of the number of countries exempted from visas when entering Thailand, 1/5 of Malaysia, 1/6 of Indonesia and less than 1/7 of Singapore.

Previously, at the National Online Conference on Tourism 2023 chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 15, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet said that the Ministry is negotiating visa exemption agreements with partners with similar or higher development levels than Vietnam such as Latin American countries, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Maldives...

Sun Group Chairman Dang Minh Truong said that expanding the subjects and countries that can be exempted from unilateral visas should target key markets with high spending levels. For example, Canada currently has a spending level of over 33 billion USD; or European countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium all spend from 21 - 26 billion USD, ranking above Sweden, Norway, Denmark, which are currently under the visa exemption policy.

"I really hope that the procedures can be shortened so that they can be completed in just one session and that the visa opening policy can be synchronized and take effect immediately, before the summer tourist season so that we can welcome tourists and realize our desire to welcome 8 million visitors, or even more, in 2023," Mr. Truong proposed.

In addition to key markets, luxury markets such as the Middle East and European countries, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky suggested that expanding visa policies should focus more on target markets such as India, Northeast Asian markets including China, Korea, and Japan. These are markets with large populations and high numbers of visitors that the Vietnamese tourism industry is aiming to "hit". In addition, some specific types of visitors such as cruise ship passengers who spend a lot of money, each group has up to 2,000 - 3,000 people and only stays for a short time (10 - 15 days) should also be given visa exemption conditions.

"Tourism is a comprehensive economic sector with a huge spillover effect. A boost for the tourism industry will create a breakthrough for the entire economy. With an open visa policy, if promotion work is focused on and parallel investment is better, the goal of welcoming 8 million international visitors to Vietnam this year is completely within reach. Vietnam can welcome about 10 million visitors."

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky , Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietravel Corporation

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/du-lich-cho-don-cu-hich-visa-185230328003754868.htm