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How to increase the number of international tourists to Vietnam?

Summary

Vietnam has reopened for tourism, but the number of international tourists to Vietnam has not been as expected, so Vietnam should offer more solutions to attract international tourists.

Updated on : 01-05-2022

 

Vietnam targets to welcome 65 million tourists in 2022. Photo: Internet

 

The statement was made by Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet regarding the attraction of international tourists.

According to the Deputy Minister, Vietnam piloted reopening for welcoming international visitors in November 2021 and the Prime Minister on March 15, 2022, also decided to reopen for tourism in new normal conditions. However, the number of international visitors to Vietnam is not significant.

According to him, the reason is due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the past two years which has disrupted tourist arrivals and affected connectivity between tourism businesses. Therefore, it takes time for them to reconnect.

Besides, as usual, the tourism time for international tourists to Vietnam falls in winter from October to April next year. Therefore, we expect that in the near future, the number of visitors will increase. Receiving international guests is also difficult as the flow of visitors to Vietnam is mainly from Northeast Asia, accounting for 70%.

Currently, many countries have applied quite strict anti-pandemic policies such as China with a "zero Covid" policy or visitors entering Korea must still be isolated. This also makes tourists still apprehensive about traveling. On the other hand, the number of Covid-19 infections in Vietnam has been relatively high, so international tourists are also more cautious when choosing Vietnam as a destination.

The situation between Russia and Ukraine is also a factor affecting travel to Vietnam, directly affecting some of our provinces and cities that often receive Russian tourists such as Khanh Hoa, said Mr. Doan Van Viet.

Faced with this situation, Mr. Doan Van Viet said the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism should offer many solutions. Accordingly, we have to effectively communicate about visa, health, and entry policies as well as connect with Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad so that international guests can access more information about Vietnam's policy for tourism.

In addition, it is necessary to continue to promote key tourism markets as well as create conditions for travel businesses to reconnect, creating a better supply-demand balance. At that time, businesses will have many incentives and support programs to attract more international tourists to Vietnam.

In terms of health, Vietnam has controlled the pandemic and should have a more open health policy so that visitors can feel safe when coming to Vietnam.

Given such solutions, Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet hopes Vietnam will soon attract international tourists again.