Thirty-five travel firms in Vietnam have been accredited by South Korean consular authorities, meaning that those Vietnamese wanting to travel to Korea through these tour operators can get a visa faster.

Vietnamese girls in South Korean traditional clothing Hanbok pose for photos during a Korea tourism promotion event in HCMC

According to the representative office of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Vietnam, 15 of the 35 companies are based in Hanoi City and the remaining 20 in HCMC. To qualify for the accreditation, they have brought at least 1,000 guests to Korea a year and less than 1% of their customers have overstayed their visas.

Normally it takes eight days to apply for a Korea visa, but guests of the 35 accredited firms just need three days for incentive tour programs and five days for normal tour programs.

The new Korea visa policy for Vietnamese visitors took effect from July 10.

Korea has also relaxed visa requirements, allowing more groups of Vietnamese visitors to apply for multiple entry visas. In the past, only those visiting Korea multiple times within a year were eligible to apply for this type of visa.

Those who have visited Korea without visa exemption, government officials, employees of State-owned companies and individuals with annual incomes of over US$8,000 can apply for multiple entry visas.

Korea is a favorite destination for Vietnamese tourists, with 251,000 Vietnamese coming there last year, up 54.5% against 2015. In the year to June 9, nearly 178,000 Vietnamese visited Korea, a year-on-year rise of 29.8%.

Fifteen accredited travel companies in Hanoi City

    Arirang Tour Service

    Asiasun Travel

    Ben Thanh Tourist

    Blue Sky Trading, Services and Tourism

    International Blue Tour Travel

    Hanoi Tourism Investment

    Hanoiredtours

    Hanoitourist Travel

    Hoang Nguyen Tourist

    Saigontourist Travel Service – Hanoi Branch

    Vietfoot Travel and Investment Services

    Vietnamtourism - Hanoi

    Vietrantour Travel

    Vietnam Travel and Marketing Transports (Vietravel) – Hanoi Branch

    Vinacomin

Twenty accredited travel companies in HCMC

    Ben Thanh Tourist Service

    Fiditour

    Global Holiday Tour

    Perfect Tour Service

    Le Phong Trading & Tourism

    Magic International Tourism

    Peace International Travel

    Saigontourist Travel Service

    Sea Star International Travel

    T.S.T Tourist Service and Trading

    Nature Tourist

    Top Ten Travel Services

    Transviet Travel

    Trieu Hao Tourist

    Viet Media Travel

    Viet Sun Travel Service

    Viet Jet Tourism and Trading Service

    Vietnam Adventure Tours

    Vietnam Travel and Marketing Transports (Vietravel)

    Viettours

SGT