Foreign visitors to the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)In their letter sent to the Prime Minister, the National Private Economic Development Research Board under the PM’s Advisory Council forAdministrative Procedure Reform and the Tourism Advisory Board said medicalrequirements should be as simplest as possible, and Vietnam needs to avoid the mistakessimilar to those in some other international tourist destinations since suchmistakes have eroded those places’ attractiveness.
Mentioningthe Health Ministry’s proposed medical requirements for international visitors,the think tanks voiced their concerns that the pre- and post-entry COVID-19testing requirements will lead to a significant decrease in the number of touristsplanning to come to Vietnam and create disadvantages for the country whencompeting with others to attract foreign investment and tourists.
The proposals, with testing and quarantine conditions muchstricter than those for Vietnamese, also reflect the should-be-avoideddiscrimination against international arrivals, the advisory bodies said, notingthat they also run counter to the Government’s directions on COVID-19adaptation and global trends.
The bodies recommended Vietnam follow what most ofother countries are doing, which is eliminating testing requirements forforeigners before departure and after arrival, and treating all international anddomestic visitors equally.
They also suggested the country accept most of COVID-19vaccination certificates and treat children under 12 and their parents in thesame way, which means if parents hold valid vaccination certificates, theirchildren are allowed to enter Vietnam without testing or vaccinationcertificates.
In addition, the think tanks held that all touristsshowing a positive test result after entering the country only need to bequarantined at their hotels or accommodations until the test result isnegative, like the current rule for domestic travellers.
As Vietnam will completely reopen to international touristsfrom March 15, the two agencies forecast it will take many months, even years,for the number of foreign arrivals to return to pre-pandemic levels, addingthat an open, clear-sighted, and timely policy will build up trust in the mainsources of foreign visitors and improve Vietnam’s competitiveness./.
VNA
