The visa waiver period for foreigners entering Vietnam will likely be extended from 15 to 30 days, according to a draft directive of the prime minister on attracting international tourists to Vietnam.

Under the draft directive prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Public Security will coordinate with the relevant ministries, agencies and localities to extend the visa waiver period for citizens from countries entitled to Vietnam’s visa-free policy.

In addition, e-visas will be issued for citizens from all source markets for Vietnam’s tourism.

The Ministry of Public Security was also proposed to enhance the technology application and improve e-visa issuance process and procedures.

It should also simplify immigration and customs clearance procedures at border gates and airports, creating the most possible favorable conditions for international travelers to Vietnam.

The draft directive also included specific tasks for other ministries and localities.

In particular, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism should improve the country’s tourism competitiveness, restructure tourism activities to meet global trends, and develop high-quality, diversified, special and high-added-value tourism products.

The ministry will improve the quality of the local tourism manpower so that they can meet international standards.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to study and propose amending the 2017 Law on Overseas Representative Missions of Vietnam and other related legal documents to facilitate the establishment of Vietnam’s tourism promotion office abroad to support the tourism development.

Visa policy is one of the bottlenecks of Vietnam’s tourism, causing a failure to attract many foreign visitors. 

Vietnam’s current visa policies are considered to be less friendly than those of other countries in the Southeast Asian region.

Therefore, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh required the review, amendment, and supplementation of visa-related policies to create favorable conditions for international tourists.

Vietnam reopened its doors to foreign travelers in March last year, earlier than many other countries in the region.

The local tourism sector has recovered, but the results have not been as expected.

The number of international tourists visiting Vietnam last year met only 70 percent of the target.

The country set a target to welcome 110 million tourist arrivals this year, including 102 million domestic travelers and eight million international guests.

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