Travel companies propose visa policy easing

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the number of visitors to Vietnam in the first four months of 2019 rose by 7.6%

Bottleneck?

Vietnam has exempted visas for citizens of 13 countries since 2004. From February 1 2017, the Government granted e-visa to citizens of more than 80 countries.

In 2018 the number of international visitors to Vietnam increased to more than 15 million visitors, but this number was still tens of millions lower than some countries in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Besides, international visitors stay in Vietnam longer but spend a little less at only US$96 per day, while in Singapore is $330 / day.

In particular, the number of visitors to Vietnam in the first four months of 2019 only rose by 7.6%, the lowest rate in recent years.

The leaders of Vietnam Tourism Association and many travel companies said Vietnam has much potential but the number of visitors fails to reach expectations, which is due to the strict visa policies.

Vu The Binh, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Tourism Association said that according to the World Travel Council, open visa policy will increase visitors by 8-10%. This is proved clearly in Vietnam, after a period of stagnation in 2017, the Government decided to exempt visa for five Western European countries, then Vietnam’s tourism developed strongly.

Some travel companies said visa is one of four bottlenecks of Vietnamese tourism and should be resolved as soon as possible.

Luong Hoai Nam, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Star Aviation Company, a member of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) said that the number of Vietnamese visitors to Thailand in 2018 was 1 million and the visa is an important factor for tourism.

“Companies often receive a question from tourists why Vietnam does not exempt visa while many countries in the region have done this. This is the top concern in the tourism development policy of the countries,” Nam said.

A Vietjet Air representative gave an example that when South Korea granted five-year visas for Vietnamese citizens, the number of Vietnamese to South Korea increased dramatically.

The visa easing is necessary?

Many travel companies said visa easing is necessary.

Nguyen Quoc Ky, representative of Vietravel proposed a flexible visa policy. Vietnam can grant visas according to each market, season or big events such as F1 car racing, SEA Games, Hue Festival or Vesak festival.

Saigontourist’s representative proposed exempting visas for many countries, exempting visas from five to 10 years for high-income people and those who regularly come for travel and business.

Nguyen Cong Hoan, Deputy General Director of Hanoi Redtours Tourism Company said visa exemption will help visitors reduce by several tens of $ and a few days for visa application. For European visitors, this amount is not significant, but it shows the goodwill of the host country for visitors.

“The Government agreed to exempt visas for tourists from Western European countries for three years, which is an important method to attract tourists because European visitors often plan for a long time before traveling. Furthermore, they normally spend much and use services more and stay longer. Therefore, the long-term visa easing needs to be expanded in many more European countries,”Hoan said.

Deputy Director of TransViet Company Nguyen Tien Dat said that in the future, the three-year visa exemption policy for five countries in Western European countries (UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy) needs to be extended and even for an indefinite term. If during the implementation, there is a problem for national security, it can be adjusted.

In addition, some travel experts said that to attract tourists, visa exemption is only one condition. For tourists to choose Vietnam as their preferred destination it is necessary to offer other criteria such as tourism products that are rich, diversified, attractive and travel services are professional and meet standards.

Ministries, sectors and localities and companies need to further improve the efficiency of promotion of tourism, clearly determine the market, destinations and products. Thereby, Vietnam tourism can compete with rivals in the region.

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