Vietnam News Today (Feb. 28): Extended Visa Exemption for International Visitors to Restore Aviation and Tourism

Vietnamese “blue beret” physicians working far from their homeland have engaged in volunteer work to help and support the local hospital as well as patients in Bentiu, South Sudan (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese “blue beret” doctors mark their day in South Sudan

On the occasion of the 68th Vietnamese Doctors’ Day (February 27, 1955-2023), officials and staff members of Vietnam’s Level 2 Field Hospital Rotation 4 of the UN Mission has conducted a civil-military co-operation (CIMIC) activity in Bentiu, South Sudan.

Vietnamese “blue beret” physicians working far from their homeland have engaged in volunteer works to help and support the local hospital as well as patients in the locality, cited VNA.

During the programme, the hospital provided medical examination and treatment, gifts, necessities and medicines to local residents. They also prepared medical equipment and sanitiser to present to local inhabitants.

The director of Bentiu General Hospital expressed his deep thanks to the hospital's medical staff and said he hopes that more practical voluntary works will be carried out in the coming time.

Extended visa exemption for international visitors to restore aviation and tourism

Domestic aviation and tourism businesses are anticipating the Government to adopt a more open visa policy for international tourists, while also proposing tourist visa exemptions are extended from 15 days to 30 days.

At a recent seminar held to discuss opening the market mechanism and supporting the local aviation industry organised by the Vietnam Aviation Business Association (VABA), representatives of aviation and tourism businesses said that amid uncertainties such as the pandemic, geopolitical issues, the slow recovery of international tourism, high fuel prices, and interest rates, local airlines are facing plenty of difficulties and challenges. As a result they continue to need support from the State.

Businesses therefore proposed increasing the ceiling of domestic airfares and moving to remove this price bracket in the law.

"Fragile" resilience

Nguyen Manh Quan, general director of Bamboo Airways, stated that although the country opened its door to trading activities from March, 2022, it has yet to fully achieve the tourism and aviation recovery indicators as expected.

Quan pointed out the main reason why traditional aviation markets both to and from the country have not yet opened or are very cautious, such as China and Japan, is that the people in these nations remain afraid to travel abroad and choose instead to travel domestically for safety reasons and income factors.

While the aviation market revenue from the Chinese market accounts for 30% of the total market, it is still frozen, according to VOV.

A report compiled by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that the speed of aviation recovery between regions in the Asia-Pacific was at the slowest rate compared to other regions, according to Trinh Ngoc Thanh, deputy general director of Vietnam Airlines.

It is therefore expected that the aviation market will recover by the end of 2024 compared to before the pandemic outbreak in 2019, he went on to say.

Photo: VOV

Meanwhile, Bui Doan Ne, vice chairman of the VABA, said that although the Vietnamese aviation industry is facing numerous difficulties and huge challenges, there remains a significant opportunity for recovery and development as the nation has the opportunity to exploit vast international markets.

Can Van Luc, director of BIDV Research and Training Institute, said that the reopening of the air transport market in 2022 helped passenger transport revenue quickly recover. However, the recovery speed of the industry no longer depends on the extent and wide opening roadmap of China and some other countries.

Therefore, he anticipates that the resumption of tourism and air travel will boost revenue growth of the whole industry in the year ahead.

Proposal for tourist visa exemption to rise from 15 days to 30 days

Regarding visa policies, Dr. Can Van Luc said that international tourists to the country are recovering more slowly than expected.

Even this year the tourism industry only aims to attract eight million international visitors, while in 2019 it lured 18 million.

“That data indicates that it is still very difficult to restore the international tourist market for Vietnam. Expanding the visa-free policy for international tourists to Vietnam is a key bottleneck to be removed at present," Dr. Luc emphasised.

Furthermore, aviation and tourism expert, Dr. Luong Hoai Nam said that once the COVID-19 pandemic situation had been gradually contained, business representatives at many conferences had expected that Vietnam would reopen the tourism market to match or even surpass Thailand.

However, Dr. Nam assessed that the reality is very different, before the pandemic, international tourists to the country were half of that of Thailand, with the figure in 2022 being only a third with 3.6 million visitors compared to the 10.5 million of Thailand. Moving forward, Vietnam has also set the target of welcoming tourists to be at only a quarter of that of Thailand.

According to details given by experts, visa-free policies for international tourists remains the biggest barrier for Vietnamese tourism development.

“The reality has not changed much. While 70% to 80% of international tourists go by plane, so tourism is difficult, aviation also has little chance of recovery," Dr. Nam analysed.

Bamboo Airways leaders also agreed with the proposal that the Government should first adopt a fresh visa policy for international tourists. This could include extending the tourist visa exemption period from 15 days to 30 days and expanding the applicable countries to this policy.

Proposing solutions to solve immediate difficulties for businesses, Nguyen Manh Quan, general director of Bamboo Airways, put forth three groups of solutions. This includes improving destination competition, supporting the tourism industry through visa policy, and removing the price ceiling in the long term while adjusting the price ceiling in the short term.

Expert Tran Tho Dat suggested that the country should look at the experiences of other places to ensure long-term and sustainable development of local airlines.

Vietnamese iced coffee among world's best coffees: TasteAtlas

Vietnamese iced coffee has been named as one of the best coffee in the world by TasteAtlas, an international food magazine.

Vietnamese iced coffee is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars by culinary experts, equivalent to Ristretto of Italy.

According to TasteAtlas, Vietnamese iced coffee is a drink that combines strong coffee, condensed milk, and ice.

“It is traditionally made with medium or coarse ground Vietnamese-grown coffee, typically the Robusta variety, which is brewed using a drip phin filter—in which the coffee is brewed and then slowly dripped in the cup,” it said.

The magazine revealed that it is usually served in a tall glass, adding that there is also a version that combines only coffee and ice (ca phe da).

Vietnamese iced coffee is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars by culinary experts. (www.tasteatlas.com)

Sharing the first position with Vietnamese iced coffee is Ristretto of Italy, which means restrictions in Italian, is half of a single shot of espresso.

It differs from a standard espresso, not only in the amount of water used for its preparation but also in flavour, which is less bitter than regular espresso, according to TasteAtlas.

The colour of Ristretto is reminiscent of dark chocolate, it said, adding that Ristretto is typically served straight in a demitasse cup

Other types of coffee that are on the list of TasteAtlas’s top 10 best-rated coffees in the world are Cappuccino of Italy, Frappe of Greece, Macchiato of Italy, Freddo Cappuccino of Greece, Espresso of Italy and Turkish coffee, and Cortado of Spain.

UV radiation at high risk level in Hanoi

The ultraviolet (UV) radiation indexes in Hanoi on February 27 reached high levels, according to data compiled by weather forecast sites.

The level recorded today shows the capital being exposed to an UV index of seven, although the index will decrease to the average level of five over the next two days from February 28 to March 1.

Residents wear face masks, coats, and gloves while riding motorbikes in the sun in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre

The UV index represents an international standard measurement for the strength of ultraviolet radiation from the sun. An UV Index reading of three to five is considered medium, whilst six to seven is high, eight to 10 is very high, and above 10.5 means extremely high.

All of the UV index levels can cause some level of harm to both skin and eyes upon long unprotected sun exposure, reported VOV.

Experts therefore advise people to wear hats, face masks, and sunglasses, cover their bodies with thick fabric, as well as using sunscreen when traveling outdoors to prevent any adverse impacts from sun exposure during days of high UV index levels.

More Vietnamese companies start digital transformation process

Vietnamese enterprises have begun allocating a budget for digital transformation, which shows heightened awareness of the need for the process.

This was the conclusion of a newly released annual 2022 enterprises’ digital transformation annual report. The survey was implemented by the Enterprise Development Agency (EDA), an arm of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), in cooperation with LinkSME, a project on promoting reform and improving connectivity for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The survey showed that Vietnamese enterprises are in the digitization stage, applying new technologies and software to implement digital transformation.

However, many of them still cannot reach their goals and have stopped the use of technologies and software, while others are still applying the solutions, but are facing difficulties.

More than 48 percent of enterprises carried out digital transformation, but they stopped the process because the solutions were unsuitable, or they no longer have demand. The reasons were the lack of personnel for the implementation. They also could not exactly define digital transformation goals and strategies.

Only 2.2 percent of enterprises can master technology and management software to analyze data and make production and business decisions.

In Vietnam, enterprises mostly apply digital solutions to operations that directly affect revenue, such as the distribution network, marketing, and sales and customer care, cited VNN.

Selling goods online has become more popular thanks to the support and active participation of many online platforms and social networks.

Photo: VNN

Accountancy is the segment where the digital transformation level is the highest, with 40 percent of enterprises using digital technology at high levels and frequencies.

According to EDA, many enterprises have digitized data and standardized the procedures, moving towards digital transformation on a large scale and more synchronized manner.

However, applications in enterprises, especially SMEs, remain fragmented due to the lack of clear targets and plans. This is why investment in digital transformation still cannot bring the desired effects.

As much as 20 percent of Vietnamese enterprises do not allocate budgets for digital transformation. Lacking money for digital transformation is a common challenge in Vietnam.

Another barrier to digital transformation is the workforce. About 56.3 percent of surveyed enterprises have less than 3 officers in charge of planning digital transformation programs and 43.7 percent of enterprises have less than 3 IT workers.

The survey found that the fields with high level of readiness for digital transformation are those having direct relations with customers, such as agriculture, forestry, seafood; processing and manufacturing industry, wholesale and retail; vehicle repair, accommodation and food & beverage, and construction.

Orientation and strategy; personnel and organization; customer’s experience and sales have the highest levels of readiness for digital transformation.

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