Prime Minister has a series of new instructions on visa exemption policy to attract high-end visitors

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just signed Directive 08 on February 23 on comprehensive, fast and sustainable tourism development in the coming time.

International visitors shop for souvenirs and food in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: TU TRUNG

Tourism development has become a spearhead economic sector, growing strongly to help enhance Vietnam's image and position, but the Prime Minister said that there are still shortcomings and limitations. Including perfecting mechanisms and policies, the number of international visitors in 2023 will only reach 70% compared to before the pandemic; shopping spending is still low; tourism linkages and promotion are still limited...

Enhance the responsibility of tourism leaders

Tourism also faces challenges from the globalization trend, newly established values, natural values, creative values ​​and adverse impacts of political instability, conflicts; increasingly fierce international competition, along with climate change, extreme weather... requiring the tourism industry to truly innovate its thinking, approach and way of doing. Accordingly, the Prime Minister requested to further raise awareness of the position, role, importance, value, efficiency and spread of the tourism industry. Seize opportunities to develop the tourism ecosystem. Promote the responsibility of leaders in tourism development, attach decentralization and resource allocation. Simplify procedures to create the most favorable conditions for people and businesses to participate in the tourism industry's input supply chain, form a tourism value chain, and link national and global tourism... Localities should enhance their role, remove obstacles for tourism development, encourage innovation, creative startups, develop business forces, form many tourism businesses with strong brands; support small and medium enterprises, tourism business households to apply science and technology... Effectively deploy governance models, public-private partnership in tourism development, promptly issue incentive mechanisms and policies to effectively mobilize resources of businesses, especially large enterprises. Preserve and promote unique indigenous cultural values, unique natural landscapes for sustainable tourism development. Ensure security and safety for tourists, focus on environmental sanitation, food hygiene and safety... The head of the Government requested the implementation of the National Green Tourism Action Program. Proactively and strongly innovate the content and methods of tourism promotion and advertising; strengthen service infrastructure connections, support and enhance experiences, and retain tourists; focus on developing and exploiting customer market segments according to specialized products...

Apply online immigration procedures, expand visa exemption

Develop a project to establish tourism promotion offices abroad; promote the role of Vietnamese cultural centers abroad in promoting and advertising the image of the country, culture, people and tourism of Vietnam. Notably, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Public Security to promote administrative procedure reform, apply science and technology and deploy automation solutions in handling procedures for foreigners to enter, reside and travel safely in Vietnam. Take the lead in researching, proposing and applying online exit and entry procedures through facial recognition (FaceID) and electronic passports (E-Passport) to create convenience and speed for tourists. Consider piloting the issuance of border visas based on on-site personnel review for international tourists; report to the Prime Minister in the second quarter of 2024. Proposing preferential policies: on conditional exit and entry for some traditional, potential international markets with high development levels, large tourism spending and long-term stays. Expanding the list of unilateral visa exemptions; piloting short-term visa exemptions (from 6 months to 12 months) for tourists from some large-scale, high-spending markets. Piloting long-term, multiple-entry visas (12 months to 36 months) to attract high-end tourist market segments, retirees with high spending capacity from some target markets such as Europe, Northeast Asia, North America, India and some countries in the Middle East.

Tuoitre.vn

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