Golden opportunity to attract international tourists

The Government has just officially submitted a document to the National Assembly (NA) proposing to include a number of new policies on the management of entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam... in the joint resolution of the NA at the session taking place in May 2023. Specifically, it is proposed to increase the duration of electronic visas from no more than 30 days to no more than 3 months, valid for one or multiple entries; increase the duration of temporary residence certificates at border gates for people entering under unilateral visa exemption from 15 to 45 days...

The "golden" time

On the afternoon of April 2, speaking with a reporter from Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga - Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Duong Province, Member of the Committee for Culture and Education - assessed that including the content of removing visa policies in the working program of the upcoming National Assembly session will help the tourism industry take advantage of the "golden" time when entering the peak season of welcoming visitors. Notably, including this content in the latest National Assembly session also demonstrates the flexibility and companionship of the National Assembly in urgently removing difficulties for the tourism industry when the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam has not yet been amended.

"Vietnam is "ahead" but "behind" in the race to welcome international visitors. We cannot attract foreign visitors as well as some countries that opened later in the region, one of the reasons is the inappropriate visa policy. Therefore, it is necessary to remove visa policies to increase the length of stay for international visitors. Visa policies should be considered an important "key" to compete with other destinations" - National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga commented.

National Assembly delegate Truong Xuan Cu (Hanoi) assessed that the proposal to ease visa policies is extremely urgent, and if approved, it will create a new wind for Vietnamese tourism. "Vietnam has many famous landscapes and diverse cultures that attract international tourists. While waiting for the National Assembly to approve the proposal to "ease" visa policies, the tourism industry needs to proactively promote products more strongly and effectively; increase the quality of products and services along with innovation and creativity so that tourists have more choices, thereby retaining them longer" - delegate Truong Xuan Cu suggested.

Mr. Nguyen Chau A, General Director of Oxalis Travel Company, stated that in 2019 - before the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam welcomed millions of international tourists but very few people complained about visa policies while recently, visitors have reacted quite strongly.

The reason is that in the past, most tourists chose tours so the travel company took care of visa procedures at the border. After the pandemic, tourists prefer to travel freely, so they have to apply for visas themselves and have encountered difficulties, leading many people to choose other destinations. Therefore, Vietnam needs a more open visa policy, e-visas that are simpler and faster.

Tourism businesses expect the more relaxed visa policy to stimulate international tourism during the peak season from April to October this year. Photo: HOANG TRIEU

Believing that removing visa barriers will be a prerequisite for reviving the tourism industry, Mr. Pham Ha, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lux Group, suggested that it is necessary to improve a number of other processes to create a breakthrough in attracting international visitors. For example, the e-visa approval time should be limited to only 1 day instead of up to 3 days as it is now; it is necessary to fix domain names that are too long and not international...

"The government can consider issuing a Golden Visa policy aimed at visitors looking for investment and business opportunities or those who want to stay for a long time... so that they can stay in Vietnam for a long time and spend more," Mr. Ha suggested.

Mr. Nguyen Chau A compared that while tourists coming to Vietnam who want to get a visa at the border gate still have to ask the travel agency to make an invitation letter and the immigration management agency to have an approval letter, many countries have allowed visa applications right at the destination. From there, he proposed to remove the invitation letter requirement and increase the choice of visas issued at the border gate (landing visa).

Many businesses believe that in addition to the early removal of visa policies, the tourism industry needs many synchronous solutions to help Vietnam increase its competitiveness compared to other destinations in the region. Mr. Vo Anh Tai, Deputy General Director of Saigon Tourist Group, said that it is necessary to strengthen the State Steering Committee on Tourism to strengthen the Government's leadership role and the coordination of ministries and branches to quickly develop tourism into a spearhead economic sector.

At the same time, according to Mr. Tai, it is necessary to soon deploy a large-scale international marketing plan with the message that Vietnam is a safe, attractive, and different destination... At the same time, continue to stimulate international visitors based on close links between travel, airline, and accommodation businesses and between businesses and state management agencies to create favorable price policies that attract tourists...

According to Laborer