The Government has just issued Resolution 82/NQ-CP on the main tasks and solutions to accelerate the recovery and accelerate the effective and sustainable tourism development. In particular, visa policy, promotional activities, tourism products and linkages in tourism development between destinations ... are bottlenecks that need to be removed immediately to create a breakthrough to attract international tourists.
Soon to "open the door" on visas
According to the resolution, the Government requested the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to continue implementing the project "Restructuring the tourism industry to meet the requirements of developing into a spearhead economic sector". In which, special attention is paid to the restructuring of the tourist market; diversify and effectively exploit the large international tourist source market; Research and grasp new tourism trends to have timely policies…
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is required to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, completing dossiers and submitting them to the Government for consideration and promulgation of a Resolution on expanding unilateral visa exemption application; promote the negotiation of visa exemption agreements with countries, especially partners with similar or higher development level than Vietnam. The Ministry of Public Security continues to improve policies to facilitate entry, exit and travel for international tourists; report to the Government on the expansion of the list of countries granted electronic visas (e-visas).
The ongoing 5th session of the National Assembly is expected to consider and approve the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens and the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam. If approved, this regulation will contribute to creating more favorable conditions for foreigners to enter Vietnam in the direction of ensuring the consistency of regulations on issuance of e-visa and traditional visa; extending the temporary residence time for foreigners entering Vietnam from 15 days to 45 days; extending the e-visa period from 30 days to a maximum of 90 days, valid once or many times…
Regarding the solutions in the Government's resolution on tourism development, leaders of many businesses (DN) said that visa bottlenecks need to be removed "as soon as possible". Because if priority is given to tourism, the first solution should be prioritizing visas to "open the door" to welcome guests.
Mr. Vo Anh Tai, Deputy General Director of Saigon Tourism Corporation (Saigontourist Group), said that the amendment of the law will improve the legal basis, ensure uniformity and consistency, and create favorable conditions for citizens to enter and exit; contribute to turning tourism into a spearhead economic sector.
Promote the new visa policy
Mr. Nguyen Asia, General Director of Oxalis Company, said that the Government is submitting to the National Assembly a Law amending a number of articles related to entry visas and the National Assembly will decide in this session. If approved and takes effect immediately, the tourism industry will have about 3 months to promote the change in visa policy to the European and American tourist markets.
“Investing in promoting the country's destination with new visa policies needs a methodical, long-term strategy along with an appropriate budget to meet the requirements and bring high efficiency. Businesses also need to renew themselves by building more tourism products, restructuring business models, and promoting B2C models to directly approach tourists.
Mr. Pham Ha, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LUX Group, proposed not only extending the stay of visa-exempt guests from 15 days to 45 days, but also increasing the e-visa to 90 days or even 6 months to 1 year (multiple entry and exit) for those in the mid-end segment and above who wish to retire and live long-term in Vietnam.
"The most important thing is that changes in visa policy need to be approved soon," said Mr. Pham Ha.
Many other businesses also suggested that priority should be given to tourism so that the industry can develop properly and the first priority is from visas. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Toan, General Director of Image Travel & Event Company, analyzed that markets with developed tourism industries are prioritized and open in visa policy. Visa is "expanded" will stimulate tourism products to follow based on the real needs of customers.
“Businesses can't predict and prepare for the tastes of tourists - especially with big markets like Europe, the US, Australia... customers have very diverse needs and don't follow trends like in the country. Each trip is a different requirement, businesses only prepare staff who are good at languages and cultures to receive product requests according to customers' wishes, "emphasized Mr. Toan.
Improve airport infrastructure to welcome passengers
According to the General Statistics Office, in the first four months of 4, the tourism industry welcomed more than 2023 million visitors - 3,68 times higher than the same period last year but only 19,2% compared to the same period in 61,7.
Before the COVID-19 epidemic, Vietnam welcomed up to 18 million international visitors. Although the tourism industry has officially opened from March 3, it only aims to welcome 2022 million visitors for the whole year of 8.
“Maybe the lack of airports and routes is also the reason why airfares are high compared to other countries in the region, affecting competitiveness and the lack of international visitors. The lack of tourists from the far market is a common problem in the world due to the price of the plane, not just our country. There are still countries that have overcome difficulties thanks to priority tourism policies and Vietnam needs this priority to make a breakthrough in tourism recovery," said Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Toan.
