Many units propose to open international tourism from the beginning of February. Photo: Thanh Nien

According to the Vietnam Tourism Association, after two months of piloting (in November and December 2021), the tourism industry welcomed about 8,500 international visitors.

This "modest" result is because quarantine regulations for international visitors have not been uniform throughout the country. Each locality has different regulations.

In addition, the visa policy for visitors to Vietnam is not as open as before 2020, while surrounding countries all offer simpler and more open regulations.

The Vietnam Tourism Association also proposed that the Prime Minister allow the restoration of visa policies for tourists as before 2020, especially with markets such as Korea, Japan, Russia, France, and nordic countries.

Vu The Binh, chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said that most countries currently stipulate the same conditions for visitors to enter the country, including that people receive full doses of the vaccine (or have recovered from Covid-19 in the last 6 months), or have negative PCR tests 72 hours before boarding. With these two conditions, visitors can freely move to safe tourist destinations.

“To attract tourists, Vietnam also needs to follow international practices, ensuring fairness between domestic and international tourists. Therefore, the Association proposes to the Prime Minister to request people to strictly follow the general regulations, not self-quarantine those who are eligible to move," he said.

Photo: VNP

This association recommends that PCR testing should be prescribed only 72 hours before the flight.

Visitors eligible for Covid-19 prevention can travel individually, in small groups, not necessarily according to the programs of tour operators.

“The time, welcoming international guests should not need to follow any particular dates. It should start from the time the Prime Minister issues the restoration of the visa policy before 2020, with new and unified regulations nationwide on pandemic prevention. Vietnam does not apply quarantine to visitors who are eligible for entry," said the Vietnam Tourism Association.

Previously, in the report to the Prime Minister, the Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform said that with 8,500 international tourists in the two-month pilot period, there had been a clear advantage and minimal risks, however, there were still many limitations such as strict quarantine regulations, administrative paperwork requirements, and requiring protective gear when boarding.

Currently, some regional tourism markets such as China and Japan are still "saying no to Covid" or maintaining strict regulations for entry.

Therefore, if Vietnam opens international tourism from the beginning of 2022, it will be a "golden time" to help tourism to take off.

To not miss a breakthrough, Vietnam needs to announce the time of full opening for international tourism to Vietnam in February.

This will allow localities, tourism businesses and airlines to develop plans, prepare resources and be ready to welcome international guests.

The Ministry of Health, other ministries and sectors need to immediately start improving the processes related to pandemic prevention with international visitors, including cutting or minimizing complicated regulations.

The Council also proposed the Government restore the visa exemption program for international visitors in key markets as in 2019.

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