Despite reopening its doors to international tourists early, Vietnam will likely fail to meet its five-million-foreign-visit target this year and ranks last in terms of international tourism recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.

A survey publicized by Spanish travel analytics firm ForwardKeys last month showed that Vietnam places last among over 100 surveyed countries and territories.

The information was revealed at a round-table conference with the theme “Economic and Enterprise Recovery in 2023: Solutions to Create Breakthroughs from Pillars of Aviation and Tourism Services,” jointly held by Nhan Dan (People) newspaper and the Private Economic Development Research Board on Friday.

Policies hinder tourism recovery

At the conference, Chris Farwell, a representative of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, said Vietnam is a pioneer in reopening international tourism after the pandemic but it fails to make use of its advantages.

The country will likely welcome some 3.5 million foreign travelers this year, well below the target of five million, which was expected to help earn US$4.5 billion in tourism revenue.

Meanwhile, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore have exceeded their international traveler targets.

Thailand reopened international tourism after Vietnam but it has welcomed more than 10 million international arrivals so far this year, generating $14 billion in tourism revenue.

The results were thanks to its favorable and attractive immigration policies.

In particular, Thailand offers the visa waiver to citizens from 65 countries and territories, with the visa waiver period lasting from 30 to 45, even 90 days.

Meanwhile, foreign travelers often complain about difficulties in applying for tourism visas at Vietnamese embassies in their countries.

They must be guaranteed by companies or are introduced to visa granting service providers with high fees, ranging from $200 to $500 for urgent visas, while the official visa application fee is only $25 each person.

Farwell encouraged Vietnam to add more countries to the visa-free list and extend the visa waiver period from 15 to 30 or 45 days, which will be attractive to foreigners wishing to travel to Vietnam. 

In addition, Vietnam should issue e-visas to citizens of more countries, change the domain name of its e-visa website to facilitate foreigners, and respond to foreigners’ visa applications faster, probably within 24 hours.

Who shoulders responsibility?

Disappointed at Vietnam’s failure to take advantage of its strengths despite early reopening, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, a member of the prime minister’s economic advisory group, said, “Vietnam reopened its international tourism when the world had yet to recover from the pandemic, which was a tremendous opportunity for Vietnam’s aviation and tourism, but it failed [to grasp the opportunity].

“Who will take responsibility for the issue?”

According to Dr. Luong Hoai Nam, an economic expert, without anti-pandemic restrictions, the domestic tourism segment has grown well this year.

As for international tourism, the Southeast Asian country must compete with other nations in the region. However, the biggest hindrance is its visa policy.

Vietnam applies the visa waiver policy to 25 countries with a period of 15 days. The respective figures are 65 countries and 30-90 days in Thailand.

As head of the Private Economic Development Research Board, Truong Gia Binh suggested delegates at the round-table conference vote on the number of countries eligible for Vietnam’s visa exemption policy, with most casting their votes for the option of 65 countries as in Thailand.

Dinh Viet Phuong, CEO of Vietnam’s budget air carrier Viejet, said due to the Russia-Ukraine military crisis in 2022, the number of Russian tourists visiting Vietnam has plunged. Moreover, China, which is an important source market of Vietnam’s tourism, remains closed.

Furthermore, the Northeast Asian market did not reopen its doors until October 1.

These are the reasons for the small number of foreign tourists to Vietnam.

However, many other countries have still attracted a large number of international tourists due to their open-door visa and anti-pandemic policies, Phuong added.

Speaking at the conference, Nguyen Le Phuc, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said Vietnam’s target of five million foreign tourists this year is cautious, with China’s zero-COVID policy taken into account.

However, the target is probably unachievable due to unfriendly policies.

Phuc added that the opinions of delegates at the conference will be reported to the prime minister and ministries at a conference on international traveler attraction presided over by the government leader next week.

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam welcomed over 2.9 million foreign tourists in January-November, a 21-fold increase year on year but plummeting 81.9 percent compared with the same period before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

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