Improved visa regulations to boost tourism

Vietnam unilaterallyexempts visas for citizens of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Finland,Denmark, Sweden and Russia. It bilaterally grants 30-day exemptions forcitizens from nine out of the 10 ASEAN member states.

The number of international holidaymakers dropped from June 2014 toApril 2015, with the growth rate falling from 34.8 percent in 2010 to 4percent in 2014.

At a recentworkshop on tourism development, Chairman of the Vietnam TourismAssociation Nguyen Huu Tho attributed the decline in numbers to changesin visa, transit and cruise travel regulations and the NationalAdministration of Tourism’s ineffective coordination between localities.

Passengers travelling by ship are no longer considered one-daytransit passengers and are required to go through a series ofprocedures to enter Vietnam.

According to Nguyen ThiVan Anh, Head of the Red Tour Company, Vietnam’s visa fees are higherthan many regional countries and visa waivers have only been approvedfor a fraction of nationalities. Bulky procedures, with more than tenpapers requiring authentication, are also hindering the growth of localtourism.

Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand haveso far exempted citizens from more than 150 countries from paying visafees, she said.

Pham Xuan Anh, Chairman of VietExcursion, suggested Vietnam should develop a more customer-friendlyvisa processing system that facilitates payment to remove tourismbarriers.

Vu The Binh, Vice Chairman of the VietnamTourism Association, said those issues reduce Vietnam’s appeal tointernational travellers and pose difficulties in competing withregional countries.

He said his agency, based oncareful consideration, proposed that the Government issue visa waiversfor France, Germany, the UK and Australia, as well as allowing 120-hourtransit at international airports.

Improved visa regulations to boost tourism

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