Airlines propose further easing visa rules to attract foreign visitors

Tourism and aviation industries teaming up

Speaking at a recent workshop held by Nhan Dan (People Daily), Nguyen Cong Hoan, CEO of Flamingo Redtour emphasized the close and inseparable bond between the aviation and tourism industries, likening them to two wings of an airplane.

In his opinions, the tourism industry cannot develop without air transportation services, and vice versa tourists play an important role in determining the existence of many flight routes.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Huu Y Yen, chairman of the Board of Members of Saigontourist Travel Service Company, pointed out that flight-related travel products often account for more than 60% of the total number of travel products and services.

Indeed, many new air routes have been launched by airlines recently, greatly contributing to the recovery of tourism services, and improving destination competitiveness by opening and enhancing international flight routes, not only to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City but also to other localities such as Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, and Da Lat.

Luong Thi Hoang Lan, sales director at Sun Group, proposed that the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism work alongside embassies in many key and potential markets overseas to seek to open more international flights to important Vietnamese destinations such as Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Quang Ninh, and Nha Trang to diversify and increase new customer markets, while limiting the dependence on some large traditional international markets such as China and the Republic of Korea.

This is a viable solution for Vietnam to seek new international markets that are big enough to compensate when there are fluctuations, because the growth of any customer market at present, Korea for instance, may be saturated in the future, she said.

More open visa policy on the cards

To facilitate tourism-aviation linkages, Vietnam Airlines proposed that the Government consider formulating a long-term and detailed overall aviation-tourism cooperation strategy. It said, the government, in addition to increasing the budget for promotion activities, should encourage the engagement and contributions of relevant stakeholders such as airlines, travel companies, and accommodation establishments.

“Management agencies need to continue to further relax immigration policies, by for instance adding countries to the current list of countries from which their citizens are exempt from visa entry, especially large potential markets such as the United States, Australia, India, and China,” suggested a Vietnam Airlines representative.

A representative of Vietjet, one of the most active airlines in reopening domestic and foreign routes in the post-pandemic period, said in order for the aviation and tourism industries to develop together and attract more tourists, the Government, ministries and localities continue to promote bilateral and multilateral negotiations and agreements with countries to have more favourable policies on visas and issuance of visas, along with supporting the opening of new flight routes, to stimulate demand of people and tourists.

Speaking at the seventh National Assembly session recently, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung  affirmed that the visa waiving policy is considered to be an important tool for attracting travelers. He pointed to the fact that the National Assembly has revised relevant laws aimed at further opening the tourism market and spurring forward tourism development. He also revealed that his ministry has asked the Government to evaluate the overall visa policy, whilst also devising priority solutions on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.

“We will also consider the openness of our visa policy, but this must be done cautiously, carefully and effectively,” he stressed.

Last year, the National Assembly passed a bill featuring new and open policies on immigration procedures. Accordingly, as of August 15, Vietnam allowed foreigners to extend their e-visas validity to 90 days, as opposed to the previous period of 30 days. During their approved duration, foreigners are able to enter and exit the nation multiple times, without having to go through new visa procedures.

Foreigners who are subject to visa exemption are granted a temporary residence certificate at international border gates which is valid for 45 days, instead of 15 days as previously. In addition, they are considered for visa issuance and temporary residence extension according to regulations.

Statistics show the number of international visitors to Vietnam last year hit 12.6 million, 3.4 times more than in 2022, far exceeding the 8 million target. The first five months of 2024 saw 7.6 million foreigners visit Vietnam, up 64.9% year on year.