Restoring the visa policy like before the pandemic, opening with the most open conditions are the proposals of travel companies for Vietnam to attract international visitors when reopening.
From March 15, Vietnam will open to tourism. Tourism experts say that it is not possible for have many international tourists to come to Vietnam to travel for now time, because this requires a certain delay time.
But in the context that many countries in the world, especially those in Southeast Asia, have reopened, Vietnam needs solutions to increase the competitiveness of the tourism industry.
Table of Contents
1. Restoration of visa and e-visa policy
At the forum “Green stream for tourism to take off” on the morning of March 11, the Director-General of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Nguyen Trung Khanh, said that Vietnam would face fierce competition with many countries in the field of tourism.
When opening the door, there are eight problems: creating favorable conditions for international tourists to come to Vietnam.
The tourism industry proposes to restore unilateral and bilateral visa exemption policies and issue e-visas for citizens from potential markets, as before the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security have proposed to the Government to remove restrictions on immigration policy.
On the business side, Mr. Nguyen Asia, General Director of Oxalis - Son Doong tour organizer, suggested that ministries and sectors agree on a common mechanism for granting visas and establish a focal point to simplify procedures visas for tourists.
“I think that Vietnam may not need a free visa, but the procedure should be as convenient as allowing online visa applications for 1, 3, 6 months, or a year. Next is to extend visas in the country easily without having to exit from Vietnam,” he said.
2. Create favorable conditions for visitors
More than 50 countries and territories are currently exempt from Covid-19 testing for international visitors in the world. Many destinations with an open policy like Dubai Thailand gradually attract many tourists.
Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Deputy Director of Marketing Department of Vietravel Tourism Company, expressed concern that Vietnam may miss the golden opportunity to recover tourism if regulations are tightened.
She suggested that Vietnam recognize the results of the rapid tests or RT-PCR of tourists. After entering Vietnam, visitors negative with Covid -19 can travel usually. “If so, we believe that travel businesses will have the opportunity to welcome guests from April,” she said.
The Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) has a proposal to be more open to the Government. Specifically, Vietnam should abolish testing Covid-19 before and after arriving in Vietnam.
Dr. Luong Hoai Nam, a member of TAB, believes that domestic and international tourists should participate in the same tourism activities. Many destinations have opened their doors, but strict regulations make them less attractive.
3. Promote recognition of Vietnam’s vaccine passports
To date, only 15 countries have recognized Vietnam’s vaccine passports, leading to difficulties for foreign tourists, making airlines unable to increase flights because of the lack of two-way passengers.
Director General Nguyen Trung Khanh proposed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinate with Health to strengthen negotiations with countries and territories to accept Vietnam’s Covid-19 vaccination certificate.
4. Research the market and change the way tourism is promoted
In 2019, Vietnam welcomed 18 million international visitors, of which Chinese and Korean tourists accounted for 50%, but currently, these two countries do not allow people to travel.
Mr. Asia said that this is an opportunity for Vietnam to diversify its target audience, targeting the European and American markets. It is necessary to invest in market research funds, thereby building products suitable for tourists’ tastes after Covid-19.
Advertising directly to visitors will be highly effective, but this is not the management task. Besides participating in international fairs connecting with partners, businesses need to spend a lot of money on world communication channels.
Provinces with vital tourism should change the way of communication in a new way. Mr. A, for example, Hanoi, needs to strengthen the role of the “Northern tourism center,” promoting neighboring areas such as Ha Long and Ninh Binh.
International tourists do not care about geographical boundaries but will choose Hanoi if they can reach Ha Long Bay in 3 hours by car or Trang An in 2 hours.
5. Changing the way the epidemic level is divided
Since early, Thailand and Indonesia have opened up to tourism, but it took many times to adjust regulations to get the current transparency and certainty.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan, General Director of Flamingo Redtours, said that even if Vietnam opened the back door, it would not lose its advantages compared to other countries in the region if it had reasonable and easy-to-use policies.
There are still some localities with different pick-up regulations. Dr. Tran Dac Phu, former director of the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, emphasized that opening the door must be synchronized. Each locality has a different style, which will cause difficulties for tourists.
The 5K message author also thinks that the message can now be flexible. Masks need to be applied to the maximum; Disinfection is essential, the distance can be divided into groups and limit contact between groups.
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