Vietnam visa policy

The nine-month figure was up 4.7 times year-on-year but equivalent to 69% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to a report released by the General Statistics Office on Friday. September recorded 1.05 million foreign arrivals, marking the third consecutive month when foreign tourist arrivals exceeded 1 million. South Korea has been the largest source of tourist arrivals with over 2.5 million in the first nine months, followed by China (1.1 million). Taiwan has surpassed the U.S. (548,000) to become the third biggest tourist sender with 575,000, and Japan came fifth with 414,000. Hoang Nhan Chinh, secretariat director of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, said Vietnam's tourism industry had received strong support from the government in relaxing visa policies. By the end of the year, Vietnam can welcome 12-13 million international visitors, or even more, he added. The peak season of international tourism season typically lasts from September until April next year as … [Read more...] about Vietnam achieves 2023 foreign tourist target

Vietnam stood behind its Southeast Asian neighbors such as Thailand (18th), the Philippines (27th), Singapore (29th), Malaysia (31st) and Indonesia (39th) where retirement visas have already been offered for years. However, it was placed higher than South Korea (50th), Cambodia (52nd), China (62nd) and Myanmar (75th) in the region. The ranking was based on a global survey of more than 17,000 people recording their perceptions on several factors: affordability, favorable tax environment, friendliness, pleasant climate, respect for property rights and a well-developed public health system. This year, Switzerland was voted the best country for retirees, followed by Portugal and Australia. Last year, Vietnam ranked 39th among 85 destinations. Cheap living costs, high-quality healthcare and low levels of violent crime have pushed Vietnam's reputation as an ideal choice for foreign retirees. Tourism industry insiders believe Vietnam has a great opportunity to become a paradise … [Read more...] about Vietnam world’s 40th best country for ‘comfortable’ retirement

Foreigners have expressed strong interest in visiting Vietnam, but the number of travelers actually making a hotel or tour booking remains modest, according to travel business insiders. Speaking at a tourism event held in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday, Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, deputy general director of tour operator Vietravel, said that the revival of the inbound market in Vietnam has yet to reward the significant efforts that businesses have dedicated in recent time. Currently, Vietnam has become a destination garnering global attention, according to Hoang. However, the number of foreign visitors actually placing bookings for services in the country remains quite modest. The primary cause behind this trend, Hoang believed, is the absence of competitive services in the tourism sector. In addition, although visa policies have gradually been relaxed, their enforcement still poses challenges for tourists. “Following the outbreak of the [COVID-19] pandemic, we have … [Read more...] about Vietnam still sees modest number of int’l visitors: travel firms

Vietnam ranked 19th in a list of 40 most visited countries based on an analysis of flight bookings between July 1 and August 31 by Spain-based travel data and analytics company ForwardKeys. Most Southeast Asian countries, except Thailand, stood behind Vietnam on the list, including the Philippines at 23rd, Singapore 24th, Indonesia 27th, and Malaysia 36th. Thailand was 14th and one of the only two Southeast Asian countries to break into the top 20 along with Vietnam. The number of foreign tourists arriving in Vietnam by air this summer jumped 12% over the same period last year but was 28% lower than pre-pandemic levels, the report said. Vietnam welcomed 2.3 million international visitors in July and August, equivalent to 80% of the figure during the same period in 2019. Of these, nearly 2 million visitors arrived by air, about 88% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Starting August 15, Vietnam's new immigration policy accepts … [Read more...] about Vietnam world’s 19th most visited destination this summer

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs to draft a report on visa exemptions for Chinese tourists, The Rakyat Post reported, citing a source from Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. If implemented, the policy could allow Chinese tourists to enjoy visa-free entry "for a certain number of days," Sin Chew Daily quoted the ministry’s Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing as saying. At present, tourists from China can obtain a 15-day visa-on-arrival upon entering Malaysia. Malaysia is predicted to welcome at least 18 million international tourist arrivals in 2023, surpassing its initial target of 16.1 million. Southeast Asian countries have sped up their international tourism recovery by relaxing visa policies and boosting tourism promotion campaigns. Starting September 25, Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second largest economy, waived visa requirements for Chinese travelers for five months as it expects the temporary waiver could help … [Read more...] about Malaysia considers visa-free entry for Chinese tourists

On September 16, Quang Nam chose India as the first destination of its first provincial tourism promotion programme since the pandemic, opening the door for further activities set to take place elsewhere in the coming months. Deputy director of the Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Van Ba Son said many tourism products and services of the province had been introduced to Indian partners during a four-day event in Mumbai city in mid-September. Businesses and travel associations from both sides also reached an agreement on cooperation in exchanging guests, opening up more attractive development opportunities for the tourism industries of the two countries in the future. “We chose India because this country is in the top 10 largest international tourist markets in Vietnam. The number of Indian tourists coming here is increasing, the two countries also have many similarities in culture and religion and both have advantages in developing cultural tours,” Son said. … [Read more...] about New approaches in Vietnam’s tourism

The proposal is based on positive signs in September as the country welcomed more than 1.05 million foreign visitors , marking the third consecutive month the figure has surpassed the one million mark. In the first nine months of this year, the tourism industry served 8.9 million foreign holidaymakers, and 93.5 million domestic tourists, pocketing over 22 billion USD, according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism. The Republic of Korea (RoK) remained the biggest source of tourists to Vietnam in the nine-month period with nearly 2.6 million, followed by China and Taiwan (China). In Europe, the UK, France and Germany were the biggest markets for Vietnam’s tourism. With the peak season for international tourism around the corner, the industry expects a surge in the number of foreign vacationers thanks to the new visa policy, which was put in place August 15. The tourism sector has continued promoting tourism products and destinations, and major events. Meanwhile, … [Read more...] about Vietnam expects to welcome 13 million foreign visitors this year

The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has said it will propose the government revise the international tourist target for this year to 12.5-13 million from the eight million set at the beginning of the year. Vietnam welcomed 8.8 million international visitors in January-September, exceeding the full-year target of eight million, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Doan Van Viet said at a recent conference to review the performance of the sector in the nine-month period. The number of domestic tourists totaled 93 million, reaching 93.5 percent of the target, Viet informed. He said Vietnam’s policies to remove bottlenecks in immigration have boosted the tourism sector’s development. In particular, the Vietnamese government issued a resolution to grant e-visas to citizens from all countries and territories. The country allowed extending the validity of e-visas granted to foreigners entering the country to 90 days from no more than 30 days for … [Read more...] about Vietnam seeks to increase int’l tourist target to 13mn

Xuan Minh, director of a travel company specializing in outbound tourism, said his company had a group of 30 Vietnamese tourists whose group visas were rejected by China this week. The group had planned to depart from Hanoi on October 13 to visit Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wu Chan and Beijing. But on Monday, Minh was surprised to receive the news that the group travel visa applications had been rejected. Some Vietnamese travel companies were calling this September 29 to October 6 the "Golden Week" to visit China because the annual mid-autumn festival is coinciding with the northern neighbor’s National Day (Oct. 1) celebrations, resulting in an eight-day holiday. But it appears that so many Chinese are traveling during their first National Day holiday since the country lifted all Covid restrictions that foreign tourist groups are being rejected. "We lost deposits to the airline and expenses to apply for group visas, as well as our advertising costs," Minh said. He added that … [Read more...] about Chinese visas difficult during northern neighbor’s biggest holiday

The US-Vietnam trade rocketed 309-fold since 1995 to US$139 billion in 2022 and the US has been the largest destination for Vietnamese exports in recent years. One of the key tenets of the recently established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and the US is to promote economic cooperation through trade and investment. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh rings the opening bell for Friday trading session at Nasdaq's MarketSite in New York City. Photos: Nhat Bac/VGP Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said during the visit to the Nasdaq Stock Market, the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume and the second on the list of stock exchanges by market capitalization of shares traded, behind the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) . Vietnam has the necessary conditions and potential to move forward in this area, where the US has advantages, PM Chinh said at Nasdaq’s MarketSite in Times Square, New York City chaired by … [Read more...] about Economic ties: Implication of Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership