VietNamNet Bridge – South Korea has started loosening visa procedures for Vietnamese visitors by reducing visa application fees and simplifying financial capability provability procedures to woo more travelers.

Le Thi Thu Trang, marketing director of Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam, informed that local visitors to Korea had to pay a visa application fee of US$30 per person, now it’s been cut to only US$20. Meanwhile, visas are still valid for 90 days, she said.

To obtain a visa to South Korea, local tourists previously were required to have at least US$5,000 in a bank account at least three months before applying for the visa but now they only have to show a certificate as holders of golden and silver cards issued by Korea’s Shinhanbank.

“We have tried replacing the procedure of financial capability provability with Sinhanbank cardholder certificates in Hanoi in recent months. As local customers have got used to this kind of procedure, we decided to expand it in both Hanoi and HCMC,” Trang remarked.

The Korean tourism authority tomorrow and Tuesday will organize exchange meetings between Korean and Vietnamese tourism companies and relevant authorities to introduce more details on the new procedures as well as special products and incentives to local customers.

Korean tour operators are launching numerous promotional programs targeting local visitors, including offering discounts of 10-50% for visitors using services at resorts and entertainment areas during winter. Specifically, visitors of MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions) tours will be subject to other incentives.

South Korea welcomed nearly 99,800 Vietnamese tourists in January-September, up 8% year-on-year, according to Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam.

Source: SGT