Visa policy needs to be addressed first to attract international visitors.

Speaking at the workshop, Dr. Pham Trung Luong - former Deputy Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research - said that attracting international visitors is extremely important for any country, not just Vietnam, because it contributes to economic development.

The visa story for international tourists has been a challenge for a long time, not until now. Overall, Vietnam is not inferior to other countries in the region, with 8 tangible heritages and 15 intangible heritages, 11 world biosphere reserves, 10 heritage gardens recognized by the world. This is a huge foundation to attract tourists that not every country has. In addition, there are many national cultural heritages, many international beaches. In particular, we are a very safe and friendly destination... are important criteria to attract international tourists to Vietnam.

Dr. Pham Trung Luong believes that visa is the first bottleneck that needs to be removed.

This has been demonstrated through major awards over the years. Most recently in 2022, a series of awards were given to Vietnam such as Asia's leading destination, Asia's leading natural destination.

"So why have international visitors been hesitant to come to Vietnam for such a long time? Why haven't they chosen Vietnam? Vietnam opened first after Covid-19 but has recovered the slowest?" - Dr. Pham Trung Luong asked. According to Mr. Luong, if we cannot overcome this bottleneck, there will be a shortage of international visitors for a long time. There are many factors that influence tourists' choice of destination after Covid-19. Those are the image of the destination, attractive values. Second is the conditions for accessing the destination, including visas. For example, the first impression when arriving in the country is very important, the smile of the staff at the border gate. Next is the direct flight for tourists to easily come to Vietnam.

Along with that are the products to experience, the unique products, different from other countries. Next are the factors of tourism environment, culture; facilities at the destination including travel procedures, time costs... "Even in Ho Chi Minh City, if you want to go to Can Gio or Cu Chi, the time cost is very high. This is a factor that tourists consider when choosing a destination", Mr. Pham Trung Luong gave an example.

For a very long time, Vietnam's tourism product system has remained virtually unchanged; there have not been many differentiated products. Or, even though Vietnam has opened up a bit, the development of the night-time economy has not yet developed. For example, international visitors to Vietnam spend about 7.5 USD/person/night while in Thailand they spend more than 30 USD/person/night and in Singapore it is more than 100 USD...

The workshop "Opening visas, restoring tourism" organized by Thanh Nien Newspaper on the morning of March 10 is taking place.

Synthesizing many factors that make Vietnam's tourism industry lag behind other countries, Dr. Pham Trung Luong reaffirmed that visa is a very important and first factor that needs to be resolved and has existed for a long time. Currently, there are 13 countries exempted from visas to enter Vietnam and the length of stay is too short. To remove the bottleneck, the Government needs to start with visas and open more direct flights. If we do not invest in opening direct flights, it will be difficult to attract international visitors.

"The government needs to listen and understand, and solve problems for key economic sectors. Ministries and sectors also need to share and take drastic actions, otherwise they will talk again next time," emphasized Dr. Pham Trung Luong.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/chinh-sach-visa-can-duoc-giai-quyet-dau-tien-de-thu-hut-khach-quoc-te-185230310085953983.htm