More Vietnamese tourists expected to visit Japan

Many Vietnamese travel firms will be granted the relaxations of visa requirements, the Embassy of Japan was quoted by the Saigon Times Daily as saying.
Many Vietnamese travel firms will be granted the relaxations of visarequirements, the Embassy of Japan was quoted by the Saigon Times Dailyas saying.

The Embassy will release the list of firms subjectedto this loosened visa policy. The move would help boost Vietnamesetourists to Japan in the time to come, added the newspaper.

TuQuy Thanh, director of Lien Bang Travelink Company, said his Japantours were not organised regularly in the past due to stringent visarequirements and high prices. But now his company has offered one Japantour a week and will increase to four trips a week next month.

“Easier visa requirements will result in more tourists, and we then canbook air tickets and hotel rooms earlier to enjoy good prices. If so, Ithink the tour price can be 20 percent lower than the current one, atalmost 30 million VND, and thus there will be more tour buyers,” Thanhsaid.

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 17 announced toloosen visa requirements for citizens of Indonesia, the Philippines andVietnam, with multiple-entry visa requirements for Philippine andVietnamese citizens relaxed significantly. Besides, single-entry visarequirements for tourists from these two countries are eased and almostequivalent to visa exemption if tourists apply for visa via an appointedtravel agency.

Like Thanh, the directors of many other travel firms are also hopeful about tourist growth with Japan’s fresh visa policy.

DirectorTran Xuan Hung of Viking Travel Company said his company targets notonly tourists but also those wanting to get vocational training in Japanfor a couple of months and businessmen wanting to study Japanesetechnology.

Hung also added that many Vietnamese people areinterested in short time vocational training in Japan while manyJapanese small and medium enterprises are willing to offere thesetrainings.

A representative of Samurai Tour, which specialises inorganising tours to Japan, said that the number of tourists is growingwell. Samurai Tour is mulling medical tours enabling tourists to getmedical treatments and checkups in Japan.

Late last year, 24travel firms clubbed together to operate Japan tours to boost sales. Asimilar club was set up in Da Nang City last month with theparticipation of travel firms in central Vietnam.

The number ofVietnamese tourists to Japan increased to 90,000, an increase of 150percent against last year's figure. The upward trend is forecast tocontinue growing this year thanks to promotion activities of Japan’stourism body in Vietnam and its special policies offered to Vietnamesetourists.

Japan expects to attract 200,000 Vietnamese arrivals in 2015.-VNA

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