PM Phuc: Vietnam persists with open visa policy

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with foreign tourism investors

PM Phuc said Vietnam boasts great potential for tourism development and defines tourism as a spearhead economic sector. He urged the investors to help Vietnam promote its tourism sector.

Tony Fernandes, founder and CEO of Air Asia, asked the Vietnamese government to improve its visa policy and attract more investment in upgrading its airports and terminals.

He said that Air Asia plans to cooperate with Vietnamese partners in developing the aviation sector in the country.

Regarding Vietnam's huge potential for tourism development, investors suggested the country should further promote visa exemption and creative innovation in order make a difference in tourism development.

Agreeing with investors’ opinions, the government leader underlined the need for the tourism sector to adopt an open visa policy, upgrade aviation infrastructure, step up tourism promotion activities and training human resources involved in the tourism sector, and develop accommodations and places of entertainment.

During the event, a host of issues were discussed such as restructuring and developing Vietnamese tourism in a high-quality and sustainable manner, promoting national tourism, improving the visa policy to attract high-quality tourists, strengthening tourism management capacity, upgrading the quality of human resources, drawing foreign investment in tourism, and applying high technology in tourism development and service management.

PM welcomed the outcomes of the Vietnam Travel & Tourism Summit 2018 with the signing of five trade agreements worth nearly US$2 billion between international partners and Vietnamese enterprises.

The Summit is co-organised by the Private Sector Development Board (Board IV under the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform), in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB).