International tourists wear Vietnam's signature conical hats. (Photo: VNA)Travel companies are anticipating that if the decision isfinalised in the ongoing National Assembly’s meeting, which started on May 22, thesector could take advantage of the change right from the travelling seasonstarting in September and achieve the goal of eight million foreigntourists for this year.
As of the end of April, Vietnam has welcomed nearly 3.7million international arrivals, reaching nearly half of the goal it hasset for 2023.
However, these figures hint that Vietnam's tourismrebound is still underway - the 2023 goal is modest compared to thecountry's record 18 million international arrivals in 2019.
Pham Ha, CEO of travel business Lux Group told Vietnam News: “Open policies like this willbe a driving force for tourism.
“I believe that with other comprehensive policies, Vietnam canreceive eight million foreign visitors within the year 2023.”
The visa validity extension has been a long-awaited decision formany travel agencies, as it allows easier, longer stay in Vietnam and,therefore, more economic revenue, Ha added.
Le Hong Thai, Hanoitourist’s CEO, said: “Statistics revealed thatinternational tourists’ spending is around 11 times more than that of domestic.
“It means that even if we have 100 million local tourists, itstill will not bring in as much as the goal we have set out for this year,which is eight million.”
While these numbers are only comparative, the difference isevident, he said.
“This is why more favourable conditions are needed and why we haveto attract international tourists to Vietnam now,” said Thai.
According to Lux Group CEO Pham Ha, a competition has been goingon between popular tourist destinations, especially for retirees and digitalnomads who will readily stay in a country for a longer time for abetter experience.
The 90-day visa, however, is expected to go beyond catering toforeigners looking for an extended tropical getaway.
Le Hong Thai believed that Vietnam can position itself as a maintransit point to its advantage, especially when tourists plan to visit multiplecountries in the region.
This is where the extended visa - single or multiple-entry - playsan important role.
He said: “Korean tourists, for example, will arrive here [in Hanoi]for a few days, then they go to Da Nang, and then they fly to Siem Reap(Cambodia). After two or three days in Siem Reap, they will return to Vietnamto fly back to the Republic of Korea.”
“In this case, if their visa is single-entry then it is notpossible. But if we issue multiple-entry visas, they can arrive and return to Vietnammultiple times within 90 days, which is a major advantage.”
The same could also be said for European tourists, Thaiadded.
“For instance, French or UK tourists come here and also want tovisit Laos and Cambodia, but there’s no direct flight back home from thoselocations, so they will return to Vietnam,” he said.
However, many concerns have been raised about whether people willtake advantage of this visa policy for purposes other than travelling.
Thai said: “Many experts have posed this question, and I believethat the answer lies in the registration form that international arrivals haveto fill in when they want to apply for a visa to Vietnam.”
The document requires stating the purpose of the visit, whetherit’s tourism, business, visiting relatives or other.
This is what state management agencies and officers can base onfor review and monitoring.
“I think that when state management agencies strengthen theirinspection and supervision, this [visa] policy is definitelypossible," said Thai.
“The result we want to achieve is to promote the development ofour tourism sector compared with other countries in the Southeast Asianregion.”
In a reportaddressing these concerns on May 16, on behalf of the PrimeMinister, Minister of Public Security To Lam said that e-visa issuance isconducted through pre-approval of personnel.
Therefore, the policy responds to management demands by helpingimmigration offices screen people who do not meet the requirements forentry.
While the 90-day visa proposal is collectively viewed as a boostfor the sector, industry experts believe that the policy alone will not be ableto transform the entire tourism landscape.
According to Lux Group CEO Pham Ha, in addition to thecomprehensive policies to address the bottlenecks in Vietnam’s tourism, thesector’s human resources also needs to be improved, while new, betterexperiences must be designed, especially with the post-pandemic demands.
Phung Quang Thang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Society of TravelAgents (VISTA), said: “Perhaps the number of international visitors to Vietnamlast year fell short of the goal we have set out, as well as in comparison withother competitive destinations.
“However, how each country's destination recovers [post-COVID]depends on its existing conditions.”
According to Thang, in both groups of international and domesticvisitors, a majority travel in small groups or even solo.
“During their trip, they will need a lot of publicservices," he said. "But obviously, the infrastructure isin different levels of development in each country, and therefore has a certainimpact on the number of tourists in that destination.”
The VISTA vice chairman said that this is a comprehensive problemthat is not easy to solve, and many of the factors involved belong to thesubjective and objective context of each destination.
He added: “It could be said that the number of arrivals willclearly increase with favourable visa policies for tourism and business to Vietnam.However, it does not mean that the growth will be as we expected.
“Achieving the set goal concerns many other factors, such as newand unique tourism products and easier access to locations. But that is onlythe first impression, and it’s not enough.
“Tourists must have a great experience during their extended stayin Vietnam, and the goal we aim at is that when they return home, they willintroduce Vietnam to their families and friends and especially feel the need totravel to Vietnam again.”/.
VNA
