In a move geared towards boosting tourism, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has proposed visa waivers for a number of countries. This is to be done in order to push Vietnam right to the top of travel destinations within the highly competitive Southeast Asia. He has tasked the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consider the issue of visa waivers to people of several countries, especially procedures for obtaining visas, coordination between relevant ministries, and ease in travelling to Vietnam.
Current Visa Policies and Comparisons
As such, Vietnam currently exempts 25 nationalities from obtaining entry visas. This is quite low compared to the neighboring states in Southeast Asia. Malaysia and Singapore provide visa-free entry to 162 nationalities, the Philippines to 157, and Thailand to 93. Such an imbalance has thus initiated moves by Vietnam to extend its visa exemption in a bid to stay competitive within the region.
Recent Improvements and Regional Development
Vietnam announced a three-month tourist visa available to all countries, while it extended visa-free stays to 45 days for nationals from 13 countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and some Nordic countries. These changes were aimed at better reception of tourists and their longer stays.
Neighbour countries are also taking steps to improve their respective visa policies. Thailand is further extending its visa-free policies, and Indonesia has the same plans for new visa-free destinations next October. It now appears that Vietnam is getting proactive to ensure that it is not left behind as an attractive destination for travelers.
Declines Addressed, Ambitious Targets Set
Despite all these efforts, international tourists visiting Vietnam in the first half of 2024 were 4 percent less than in the pre-pandemic level. It targets 18 million international tourists by year-end, and the proposed visa waivers would be an integral part of the plan to make travel to Vietnam all the more beautiful and hassle-free.
Although concrete countries to which the new visa waivers would be extended have not been announced yet, this move clearly shows Vietnam’s commitment to the revival of its tourism sector. Improved accessibility to visas will entail more foreign visitors for Vietnam and, consequently, greater entrenchment as one of the leading tourist destinations within Southeast Asia.
