With international visitor numbers at only 69% of pre-pandemic levels, will the government propose new visa exemption policies?

The conference was held in person at the Government headquarters and connected online to the headquarters of the People's Committees of provinces and cities nationwide.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that tourism is a key economic sector according to Resolution No. 08 of the Politburo, making an important contribution to creating jobs and livelihoods for the people, alleviating poverty, attracting investment, promoting growth and restructuring the economy, preserving and promoting the traditional, historical, and cultural values ​​of the nation, and improving the material and spiritual lives of the people.

Tourism is considered a practical and effective bridge for international exchange, allowing tourists from all over the world to visit, experience, understand, share, and appreciate Vietnam's country, culture, and people even more.

Tourism still faces many challenges.

This is the second conference held this year, and the head of government assessed that Vietnam's tourism sector has shown improvement over the past 10 months. By the end of October 2023, the total number of international visitors reached approximately 10 million, while domestic tourists reached 99 million.

However, international tourist arrivals in the first 10 months of 2023 were only 69% of those in the same period of 2019 (before the pandemic). Domestic tourism, after a period of strong growth in 2022, is showing signs of slowing down.

The tourism industry faces numerous challenges and obstacles, many of which have persisted for years and across multiple terms of office without resolution.

Therefore, in order to develop tourism into a key economic sector, achieving the goal of welcoming at least 35 million international tourists and 120 million domestic tourists by 2025, and 50 million international tourists and 160 million domestic tourists by 2030, Vietnam's tourism industry needs to truly innovate its thinking and approach with creative, breakthrough, synchronized, and effective measures.

Therefore, the Prime Minister suggested finding solutions to the challenges for the rapid and sustainable development of Vietnamese tourism: identifying the opportunities and challenges of tourism; and sharing successful experiences from Vietnam and other countries around the world.

He also requested associations, businesses, researchers, experts, and ministries and localities to propose breakthrough, specific, and feasible solutions. The focus should be on clearly outlining institutional issues, mechanisms, policies, resource mobilization for infrastructure development, branding, human resource training, and coordination among various units.

Researching several visa policies for international visitors.

Regarding the reasons why the number of international tourists visiting Vietnam has not met expectations, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung stated that some traditional key markets are reopening gradually and have not yet regained their pre-pandemic growth rates. Connecting with and exploiting new and potential markets remains slow and faces many difficulties.

Slow connectivity and delays in restoring international flight frequencies to pre-COVID-19 levels, along with other factors such as inflation, rising exchange rates, political conflicts, and reduced travel spending by tourists, have significantly impacted the number of international visitors to Vietnam. Furthermore, communication and dissemination of information regarding new regulations for Vietnamese tourism remain limited.

Mr. Hung stated that the key solutions are to continue strengthening inter-sectoral coordination, researching and proposing mechanisms and policies to further facilitate the recovery and development of tourism.

The study proposes waiving short-term visa requirements for tourists from several large, potential markets such as China and India to stimulate tourism, especially during the off-season.

Expand unilateral visa exemptions to citizens of countries with a higher level of development than Vietnam and high tourism spending, such as Australia, Canada, the United States, and the remaining countries in the European Union...

Strengthen inter-regional and inter-local coordination, form tourism value chains and products, and build a civilized, safe, and friendly tourism environment. Implement tourism promotion activities decisively and accelerate the recovery of the international tourist market...

A series of travel CEOs offer suggestions.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Sovico Holdings, pointed out that the aviation industry is not yet profitable; tens of thousands of hotel rooms are frozen, and entertainment and restaurant services have all come to a standstill.

Therefore, she believes that urgent action is needed to transform Vietnam into a distinctive international tourist destination with rich cultural, culinary, and resort experiences. This includes creating favorable conditions for the aviation sector to attract tourists as quickly as possible, and launching a national action program to boost tourism to airports and localities.

According to a representative from Vingroup, it's time to remove bottlenecks in tourism. This includes implementing flexible visa exemption policies, such as granting visa waivers to certain key markets for short-term periods.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietravel, suggested further improving the legal framework to promote tourism development, especially in tourist management and the development of tourist areas. He also called for an updated tourism development strategy, emphasizing the need for international-level events to attract tourists and bring international events to Vietnam, following events like the Black Pink event.

Based on the recommendations, the Prime Minister instructed ministries, departments, and localities to clearly assign responsibilities, promote the guiding role of the national tourism agency, the leading role of major tourism centers, and regional linkages to drive growth.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is urgently submitting to the Prime Minister for approval the Tourism System Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045.