Vietnam mulls reducing visa fees for foreigners

He made the announcement after a tourism working groupmeeting at the mid-term Viet Nam Business Forum 2015 said visa fees forViet Nam were too high, hindering tourists from visiting the country.

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Competent Vietnamese agencies would simplify the visa procedures at the airport and for online visas, he said.

The government has asked relevant ministries to study the possibility of reducing visa fees.

The Prime Minister has authorised the culture, sports andtourism ministry to coordinate with the foreign affairs and publicsecurity ministries in submitting a list of countries that enjoyunilateral visa exemption soon.

Viet Nam considered tourism to be a key economic sector,contributing five to 10 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product,Ai said.

The government would not only reform visa procedures, butalso improve tourism development and tourism products and expand flightconnections with key countries, he said.

At the mid-term Viet Nam Business Forum 1015 meeting heldyesterday in Ha Noi, Ken Atkinson, head of VBF’s tourism working group,said high visa fees made Europeans hesitate from visiting the country.Many of them have chosen Thailand instead. Viet Nam’s visa fees areequal to the amount required for spending two nights in Bangkok.

The working group has proposed that the government shouldreduce visa fees, reportedly the second highest in Asia, and review theextra fees charged for online visas and online visa documents.

The working group supported the government’s visa waiver forcitizens of Australia, New Zealand and European and North Americancountries because about 1.6 million tourists from these countries visitViet Nam every year.

“A reduction in visa fees will bring about a hundred milliondollars to Viet Nam due to a growth in the number of tourists,”Atlinson said.

With the number of tourists from the above-mentionedcountries increasing by about two per cent and the current average visafee being US$70 per person, Viet Nam could earn about $40 million ayear, he said.

Of these, $2.25 million can be collected from visa fees and $36.88 million from tourists’ expenditure.

Viet Nam has offered unilateral visa exemption to citizensof 16 countries, including a number of nations in North Europe, ASEANand North-East Asia.

Vietnam mulls reducing visa fees for foreigners

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