Vietnam life vietnams travel firms see explosion of summer tours

Issued since July 1, the new passports are not accepted for visas by Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic since they lack information about place of birth. A group of Vietnamese tourists on a Europe tour. Three EU countries are refusing to issue visas to Vietnamese having the new passports that are being issued since July 1 since they lack information about place of birth. - Photo nld.com.vn Tran Thanh Vu, general director of Vinagroup International Travel JSC, said many customers who booked tours to Europe obtained the new passports and could cancel their tours. According to tourism companies, travel to Europe is picking up and they have booked hotels and flight tickets for tour groups. The countries refusing to accept the new passports are key tourist destinations in Europe. Lai Minh Duy, general director of TSTourist, told Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper that his company is turning away customers who have the new passport and want to tour the countries that are not … [Read more...] about Refusal to issue visas to new VN passport causes problems for travel firms

TOKYO -- Japan's biggest power generator JERA said on Tuesday it will spend about 15 billion yen ($112 million) to buy a 35.1% stake in Vietnamese renewable energy company Gia Lai Electricity JSC (GEC) to expand its overseas business. The acquisition of an affiliate of Vietnamese conglomerate TTC Corp comes as the Japanese utility steps up its decarbonisation efforts to help tackle global climate change. The deal is aimed at contributing to both economic growth and decarbonisation in Vietnam, JERA said in a statement. Under the deal to be completed by October or November, JERA will buy about 14% stake in GEC from International Finance Corp and about 21% from Armstrong Asset Management Pte, JERA said. GEC, which holds about 600 megawatts (MW) of wind, solar and hydroelectric power assets, including projects under construction, aims to expand its power generation assets to 1.7 gigawatts (GW) by 2025, mainly solar and wind power, according to JERA. After the acquisition, JERA's … [Read more...] about Japan’s JERA to buy 35% stake in Vietnam’s renewable energy firm for 15 billion yen

In mid-July, a group of 460 Indian business tourists boarded flights to Ho Chi Minh City, officially starting a journey to discover Vietnam in just 3 days. Vietnam becoming favourite destination for Indian tourists The group, which consisted of Indian bus and truck manufacturing representatives, stayed at the 5-star Vinpearl Luxury Landmark 81 and Le Meridien hotels to attend a conference, then went to visit some famous tourist attractions in the city and moved to Tien Giang before returning home. This was the largest Indian delegation to Vietnam for nearly three years. B. Subhash Chandar, managing director of Asia Destination Management JSC (Asia DMC) in Vietnam and the organiser of the trip said, “Indians are used to destinations like Thailand, Singapore, and Dubai, but Vietnam is still a new destination to them. All Indian tourists are very excited to come here and explore.” He aims to bring at least 6,000 Indian tourists to Vietnam through company tours by the … [Read more...] about Vietnam becoming favourite destination for Indian tourists

In the first seven months this year, Vietnam received over 196,000 South Korean tourists, accounting for 20 percent of total foreign arrivals though the figure was only 8 percent against pre-pandemic levels, according to General Statistics Office. South Korea was one of 10 countries with the highest number of searches on Vietnam tourism, according to data from Google's Destination Insights. In July alone, nearly 90,000 South Korean tourists touched down in Vietnam, up 1.7 times against the previous month and three times from May. In popular hotspots like Nha Trang and Da Nang that used to heavily depend on Russian and Chinese tourists before the pandemic, the return of South Koreans is considered good news. China has been sticking to its zero-Covid policy with strict entry restrictions while tourist hotspots are witnessing the absence of Russians due to impacts from the Russia-Ukraine war that resulted in flight suspensions. "In Nha Trang, South Koreans are replacing … [Read more...] about South Koreans give Vietnam tourism post-Covid boost

An overview of the programme (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – A programme linking the strength of Vietnam’s tourism opened in Ho Chi Minh City on August 8, seeking ways to gain international tourism growth and comprehensive recovery of Vietnam’s tourism. The two-day event is jointly held by the Vietnam Tourism Association, the Tourism Association of Ho Chi Minh City, and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Nguyen Thi Khanh, President of Ho Chi Minh City ’s Tourism Association, said that at present, domestic tourism is gradually recovering with positive results, but international tourism, both inbound and outbound, has not recovered as expected. Therefore, in addition to trading activities between units in the tourism industry, the programme also has activities to introduce new products and services of localities and businesses around the country. Organisers said that they will organise tours to destinations in Ho Chi Minh City and other southern localities … [Read more...] about Programme links strength of Vietnam’s tourism

More open policy is needed to attract international tourists to Vietnam during post-pandemic recovery . (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Tourism officials and National Assembly deputies share the view that a more open policy is needed to attract international tourists to Vietnam during post-pandemic recovery. To this end, they proposed scrapping the 10,000 USD COVID-19 travel insurance, expanding the list of visa-free countries and extending visa exemptions to 30 days. Scrapping COVID insurance The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have sent documents to ministries and agencies, seeking their feedback on scrapping the travel insurance requirement for pandemic treatment for foreigners entering Vietnam. It said the pandemic situation is under control and the cost of treatment is not as high as it used to be, as most patients do not need to be hospitalised for as long, and so it should no longer be necessary for tourists to buy insurance of at least 10,000 USD. … [Read more...] about Vietnam tourism needs a more open policy: officials

He also suggested the government consider simplifying immigration procedures to attract foreign tourists as Vietnam reopened after over two years of border closure, he said in a report submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Tuesday. Hung also proposed extending tax cuts to tourism businesses until the end of 2023 to help them recover after the pandemic crisis. Though Vietnam reopened tourism and lifted most Covid restrictions, Hung said travel firms and those working in the tourism industry are grappling with difficulties and have not really benefited directly from current policies. The country welcomed 954,000 foreign arrivals in the first seven months this year, up nine times year-on-year. This year, Vietnam targets five million foreign tourists, around 30 percent of pre-pandemic levels. The government has allowed quarantine-free entry and resumed its pre-pandemic visa exemption policy for 24 tourism markets including Western European countries from … [Read more...] about Vietnam minister proposes visa exemption for US, European travelers

Tourists visit Golden Bridge in Da Nang (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The domestic search volume for tourism in July surged by nearly 8 folds year-on-year, and by 3 times compared to the beginning of March 2022 when the country started to re-open tourism. domestic tourists . It was followed by Phu Quoc Island, Hanoi, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Vung Tau, Quy Nhon, Hue and Phan Thiet. travel business es in the city have operated again, she said, attributing the city’s rebound to the increasing demand in summer. Visitors on Phu Quoc Island (Photo: VNA) Meanwhile, right from early June 2022, Phu Quoc Island in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang have welcome a great number of travelers. Surveys by leading travel agencies such as Vietravel and Saigontourist show that Phu Quoc ranked first among the most attractive tourism destinations this summer, not only for solo travelers but also group and MICE travelers. VNA … [Read more...] about Domestic tourism market bustling in summer

He also suggested the government consider simplifying immigration procedures to attract foreign tourists as Vietnam reopened after over two years of border closure, he said in a report submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Tuesday. Hung also proposed extending tax cuts to tourism businesses until the end of 2023 to help them recover after the pandemic crisis. Though Vietnam reopened tourism and lifted most Covid restrictions, Hung said travel firms and those working in the tourism industry are grappling with difficulties and have not really benefited directly from current policies. The country welcomed 954,000 foreign arrivals in the first seven months this year, up nine times year-on-year. This year, Vietnam targets five million foreign tourists, around 30 percent of pre-pandemic levels. The government has allowed quarantine-free entry and resumed its pre-pandemic visa exemption policy for 24 tourism markets including Western European countries from … [Read more...] about Tourism minister proposes visa exemption for US, European travelers

Many Vietnamese travel agencies have expressed their concerns over slumping revenue after the Czech Republic, Spain, and Germany refused to issue visas to holders of new Vietnamese passports. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, deputy director of Vietravel's marketing department, stated that about 10-20 percent of the customers who book the firm’s tours to Europe are using the new passport form. Travelers often choose countries in the Schengen area, including France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy, Khanh elaborated. If customers’ trip includes the Czech Republic, Spain, and Germany and their visas get rejected due to the new passport form, the travel agency needs to adjust the original itinerary, which can be troublesome. Tourists can either choose to exclude these nations from their journeys or travel to other European countries instead, such as Switzerland and France. Regarding tours that must include Germany, Vietravel will only offer them to customers who … [Read more...] about Travel agencies on tenterhooks as 3 European nations stop accepting Vietnam’s new passport