To attract more international tourists, Vietnam must address visa issues and length of stay

DNHN - Among the solutions to promote Vietnam's tourism for it to recover from the pandemic and become a leading economic sector, it is necessary to remove institutional barriers related to immigration regulations, transit, and length of stay to make it more convenient for international visitors...

Mr Nguyen Van Hung, Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, spoke at a meeting of the State Steering Committee on Tourism Recovery, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, and proposed other solutions such as establishing tourism representative offices in several key markets, creating linkages and tourism development mechanisms between sectors and localities in the region, and continuing to perform the tasks in the Vietnam tourism development strategy to 2030.

Mr Hung stated that since the resumption of tourism in Vietnam on March 15, the sector has concentrated on the local market and achieved excellent recovery achievements. This has serviced over 72 million domestic tourists and 733,000 international visitors, generating around 330 trillion VND (13.5 billion USD).

The number of new travel companies and tour operators beginning operations, both domestically and abroad, has reached 3,623, with up to 90% of lodging businesses reopening. However, the minister stated that the domestic tourist industry is under pressure to raise service rates due to a lack of workers for lodging facilities and services, competition in visa issuing, and other problems.

According to the Minister, one of the solutions to promote Vietnam's tourism to recover from the pandemic and turn Vietnam's tourism into a leading economic sector is to remove institutional barriers related to immigration, transit, and length of stay regulations to make it more convenient for international visitors.

On the execution of Politburo's Resolution No. 08-NQ-TW on growing tourism as an economic spearhead and the Government's Resolution No. 103/NQ-CP on activities for foreign visitors. "The key to recruiting international visitors is to make the issuing of e-visas easier," the minister stated.

Vu In addition, the Binh - Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association noted that to secure a long-term recovery of tourism following COVID-19, measures such as personnel training must be implemented to enhance international tourism. It is also vital to keep improving the quality of tourism services for Vietnam's tourism to compete with those of other nations.

Mr Binh advocated the creation of tourist marketing offices inside associations, with significant tourism firms playing a key role. With the assistance of the Vietnamese Embassy and Commercial Consulate in the host nation, offices should be established in significant markets. He also attributes his success to the formation of the Tourism Development Support Fund.

The delegates at the conference agreed that the essential answer is to simplify the issuing of electronic visas for tourists and to expand the length of stay for international visitors.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, electronic visas have been given to citizens of 80 countries and territories, while visas for tourists from 25 other countries have been waived.

Deputy Prime Minister Dam, who also serves as the Chair of the State Steering Committee on Tourists, has requested that the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism conduct an assessment of the operations of business houses in the tourism industry affected by COVID-19. To construct essential routes linking communities, the government must collaborate with significant travel enterprises.

Regarding power costs for tourism services and lodging businesses, the Deputy Prime Minister advised that the Ministry of Industry and Trade present a proposal to the Prime Minister before implementing it. "The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, as well as tour groups and businesses, should offer particular tax and land incentives," stated the Deputy Prime Minister.

H.H