Two weeks after visa waivers went into effect for a number of European nations, Vietnamese officials said that they were planning to extend visa waivers to visitors from a number of other countries.
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Those being considered for waivers include the Commonwealth of Independent States, Australia, New Zealand and Eastern European nations, reports The Voice of Vietnam.
Dinh Ngoc Duc, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s (VNAT) International Cooperation Department, speaking on the sidelines of a workshop in Hanoi last week, said that these countries already have well-established relationships with Vietnam.
The workshop was held to discuss the effectiveness of the recent visa exemptions provided to visitors from the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
VNAT General Director, Nguyen Van Tuan, told attendees that his agency plans to work with the Vietnam Tourism Association and Vietnam Airlines to launch a stimulus program targeting these nations, including inviting foreign media to the country and holding Vietnam tourism roadshows aboard.
The government hopes that such activities will help Vietnam to attract 1.1 million travelers annually from these markets between 2016 and 2018.
It’s been a rough go of it for the Vietnamese tourism industry in recent years with the country posting 13 consecutive months of declining international arrivals.
Vietnamese authorities have tried a number of tactics to boost the country's tourism appeal in recent months, from the aforementioned visa waivers to ordering customs officials to improve their attitudes towards international visitors.
If the country approves the new visa waivers, hopefully they will better communicate changes to customs officials. On July 1, the day that waivers went into effect for German, French, British, Italian and Spanish tourists, officials at Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport were still charging $45 visa fees.
[Photo via dcgreer]
