Tourists visit Ngoc Son temple at Hoan Kiem lake, Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The expansion of the visa exemption policy to cover morecountries is good for Vietnam tourism, said Head of the Secretariat of theTourism Advisory Board (TAB) Hoang Nhan Chinh.
OnFebruary 15, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the Ministry of PublicSecurity to consider expanding the visa exemption policy to citizens of someother countries based on the new situation and Vietnam’s relations with thosecountries.
Vietnamis currently exempting visa requirements for citizens of 25 countries,including 13 entitled to unilateral exemption, namely Germany, France, Italy,Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway,Finland, and Belarus.
SinceAugust 2023, it has granted electronic visas to citizens of all countries andextended the stay from 30 to 90 days with multiple entries. Meanwhile, citizensof the countries entitled to the unilateral visa exemption have also had theirstay in Vietnam extended to 45 from 15 days.
Chinhfrom the TAB said that innovating visa policy is a reasonable approach and a common trend that regional countries are taking to attract tourists after theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Continuingto expand the visa exemption policy will help the tourism industry diversifythe markets, increase the number of international tourists to Vietnam, andencourage them to stay and spend more in Vietnam, he said.
Besidesthe possible increase in revenue and jobs, the policy is also expected to help raise the number of air passengers, facilitate international tradeexchanges, and attract more foreign investors to Vietnam.
Chinhsaid that Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore - Vietnam's three major competitors in Southeast Asia – are striving to attract tourists, including by creating favourableconditions for tourists to enter their countries.
Sofar, Thailand has exempted visas for citizens from 76 countries, Malaysia 156countries and Singapore 162 countries.
Chinhsaid that since the middle of August 2023, Vietnam has adjusted its visa policywhich creates more favourable conditions to attract foreign tourists.
However,when applying for an e-visa to Vietnam, tourists still have to spend a lot oftime providing personal information and waiting for approval.
Strictrequirements and time-consuming procedures a major hurdle to foreigntourists when they plan to visit a country, Chinh said, adding that better visapolicy will make Vietnam more attractive to visitors.
Itis a short-term solution to widen the door to attract international touristmarkets besides medium- and-long-term solutions to internal problems of thetourism industry such as promotion, digital marketing, productdiversity, destination management, and human resource development, he said./.
