The Research and Development Board of the private economy wants to remove obstacles for international tourism

DNHN - The business community and Board IV would like the Prime Minister to consider and direct ministries, branches, and localities to implement a variety of solutions in order to meet the expected goal of welcoming over 5 million international visitors. Vietnam in the year 2022.

 The government has announced the official start of international tourism on March 15, 2022, along with a gradual relaxation of health regulations for visitors entering Vietnam after that date, but traditional activities will continue to be prohibited. Foreign tourism information and promotion for Vietnam have received insufficient attention. 

Communication and information provision for international partners are primarily carried out by private enterprises on an individual basis, depending on each enterprise's capacity and connections. Websites and social networking sites that are frequently visited and interacted by tourists and international partners, such as Vietnam-travel or the websites of Vietnamese embassies around the world, do not receive regular updates, and the presentation is not intuitive or easy to understand. 

Although Vietnam's health regulations for international tourists have changed, adapting to the new context, but not really keeping up with the situation, not favourable for tourists, and has not clearly demonstrated the value for the goal of "ensure safety against epidemics," some international tourists prefer to choose destinations such as other countries in the region with favourable regulations.

Board IV's report stated "In general, visa policy has not functioned as it did prior to the pandemic." The visa exemption incentives have not yet caught up with post-pandemic tourism trends and have not yet competed with other countries in the region. 

Furthermore, issues such as border visas still require a "visa approval" paper, which requires more complicated paperwork than before COVID-19; electronic visa (e-visa) also lacks a mechanism to confirm the date of automatic reply on the website and has not explained why the application is refused, causing visitors entering Vietnam to face many problems. "many unnecessary difficulties.”

According to Board IV, in order to meet the expected goal of welcoming over 5 million international arrivals to Vietnam by 2022, tourism, aviation, and the Vietnamese economy in general must make significant strides following the pandemic. 

Board IV and the business community wanted the Prime Minister to consider and direct ministries, branches, and localities to take a number of solutions in the context of the pandemic: the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (VNAT), Vietnamese embassies abroad, and the Ministry of Information and Communications coordinate and plan synchronously to promote international communication and international tourism marketing. 

 To achieve timeliness and efficiency, relevant policy and regulatory information must be updated on a regular basis, visually and easily on all channels, in popular languages. 

Moreover, it is necessary to take the initiative, innovate forms, and diversify source markets for tourism marketing and promotion; focus on public-private cooperation in international communication campaigns; and, in particular, find a mechanism to strongly promote the role of Vietnam Tourism Promotion Offices in some countries (such as the UK, Australia - approved by TAB and Vietnam). Tourism businesses must first actively develop; strengthen e-marketing activities; and include meaningful events such as SEAGAMES 31 in communication campaigns to spread Vietnam's outstanding image, culture, and values to foreign tourists. 

 The Ministry of Health and related ministries and branches will soon reduce barriers and requirements for international tourists to Vietnam, such as: removing the requirement for international tourists to be tested before leaving, instead testing quickly at the border gate if guests have symptoms such as fever, cough...; and removing the requirement for traveller insurance to "include content intended for the treatment of COVID-19." 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security will study and propose a plan to improve visa and e-visa policies in the direction of: Expanding the list of visa exemptions for potential markets such as the United States, India, and Canada., Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands,... in order to diversify the market, not to be dependent on a few traditional markets, particularly the dominant markets in the region, but tourists not to be excluded. Increase the visa-free period for markets as far away as Europe (UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Nordic countries) from 15 to 30 days; use multiple entry and exit visas with more exemptions for more days to attract and retain tourists who will stay in Vietnam longer, increasing revenue for the tourism industry.  

Localities clearly designate focal points of specialized agencies to provide information on the epidemic situation and related regulations, as well as to carry out procedures for businesses in the spirit of public-private coordination to increase efficiency, implementing the Government's guidelines; regularly publicizing and updating the province's website so that businesses can make and implement plans with tourists really easily and effectively, avoiding the current situation because regulation guidance, and enforcement are not synchronized or clear across departments, branches, and focal points, businesses face numerous challenges during the implementation stage with international partners and tourists. 

PV