Relevant agencies are seeking central government approval to waive tourist visa requirements for France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, India and Canada.
The proposal was made by the Ministry of
Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Transport to draw more visitors
from those markets, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.
A survey conducted by the Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism (VNAT) found that Western European visitors often
spend more money and stay longer than others.
Meanwhile, Australian and Kiwi visitors often
visit during traditional low seasons.
In addition, Canada has remained one of the
fifteen leaders in providing tourists, while India remains an important source
of visitors, the survey found.
According to VNAT, international tourists
often spend between US$1,200-1,500 per trip; a visa exemption is expected to
significantly increase tourism revenues.
Vietnam currently offers a 30-day visa waiver
for tourists from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
bloc (except for Bruneians who receive a 14 day waiver). Visitors from Denmark,
Norway, Finland, Sweden, Japan, South Korea and Russia get a 15-day waiver.
Statistics from tourism promotion agencies in
Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia show that tourist arrivals increased with visa
waivers. Thailand currently grants visa exemptions for
61 countries and territories. Malaysia exempts visa requirements for visitors
from 155 countries and territories and Singapore exempts visas for visitors
from 165 countries and territories.
In June, the Vietnam Business Forum, a
consortium of international and local business associations and chambers of
commerce, urged Vietnam to relax its visa procedures following a dip in tourism
arrivals that followed deadly anti-China riot in May.
China’s deployment of a giant US$-1billion
oil rig in Vietnamese waters on May 2 triggered peaceful anti-China protests
that erupted into violence in central and southern Vietnam two weeks later.
Despite “significant growth” in visitor
arrivals in the first four months of this year, the riots reversed the trend,
according to the findings of a report presented by the VBF at a June meeting
with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Hotels have seen many tour operators cancel
trips through the end of June and many multinationals have continued to
restrict travel to Vietnam, the report said.
“Whilst Russian visitor arrivals have been
largely unaffected, the main impact has been on visitors from China, Taiwan,
Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia,” it said.
From: thanhniennews
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