Foreign tourists in HCM City
To realise this target, the local tourism sector should focus on upgrading infrastructure and improving service quality by introducing new products and applying information and technology. In addition, the country will also join in some major international tourism events to be held in Indonesia, Germany, and the UK as well as run advertisements on major international broadcasting channels to introduce Vietnam tourism to some target markets including ASEAN, North East Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.
However, VNAT head Nguyen Trung Khanh admitted that the local tourism industry would face some challenges in 2023 which may affect their set target.
"We may still face difficulties having tourists from Russia and China next year due to the war and Covid-19 pandemic," Khanh said. "Meanwhile, our visa policy is not attractive enough compared to other countries in the region."
At a recent conference on tourism, experts also proposed urgent solutions for 2023, including increasing the list of visa-free countries to 65, equal to Thailand, and extending the number of visa-free days to 30-45 or more.
According to Chris Farwell from the Tourism Advisory Board, one of the main reasons for the success of tourism in other countries in the region after re-opening is the increase of the visa-free period to over 30 days for international visitors.
He recommended that quick action and incentives must be implemented to entice more tourists, while the government urgently needs to support the tourism industry.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung has also proposed that the government consider granting e-visas to all countries and territories, instead of the current 80, to boost foreign tourist numbers.
At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on post-Covid international tourism recovery on Wednesday, Hung urged the government to extend visa-free stays for foreign tourists to 30 days and to grant visa-on-arrival for foreigners at immigration.
VNAT reported that Vietnam is expected to serve 101.30 million tourists this year with revenues estimated at VND495 trillion (USD20.62 billion), or 23 percent higher than the annual target. However, the country only received 3.50 million foreign visitors or 70 percent of the set target of five million.
