The official reopening of international tourism this month offers hope to tourism businesses who have been hit hard in the pandemic.

March 15 marks the time of fully opening to Vietnam’s tourism industry. Below are a number of important milestones in the process of opening Vietnam's tourism.

Vietnam's reopening on March 15 came a day before Singapore approved the nation as one of its VTL partner countries, reigniting travel between the two nations.

Anex Vietnam, a tourism firm which receives more Russian travelers than most other travel firms, has decided to temporarily stop receiving Russia tourists who want to go to Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa).

The last 300 Russian tourists left Cam Ranh City in the southern coastal province of Khanh Hoa on Thursday.

Foreign travelers are looking forward to hearing the news about Vietnam’s reopening but many still cannot make a decision because of the lack of information.

Many large businesses in tourism, accommodations and transport, and five-star hotels and resorts are expected to see a boom after two years of stagnation.

Being ready to welcome international tourists from March 15, Hanoi introduces many attractive heritage tours to discover the rich historic and charming capital city.

Foreign visitors entering Vietnam no longer need to spend time in medical isolation, but a negative test is now necessary for entry, according to the latest COVID-19 policy for foreign travelers issued by the Ministry of Health.

Vietnam has officially reopened international tourism today – March 15. At present, the whole tourism ecosystem, from aviation, travel agents to accommodation and entertainment service providers, is ready to open doors to welcome visitors back.

The sky is "open" and the tourism industry will have to be ready with new requirements from visitors. It is a strategy that requires the cooperation of many stakeholders in the industry.

The successful vaccination campaign and the removal of restrictions on international flights has created a golden opportunity for Vietnam to reopen the tourism sector.

Travel firms have proposed the restoration of the visa waiver policy applied before the pandemic, and a waiver expansion for additional countries.

Many travel firms say that their inbound tours remain unsold as ministries and branches are still discussing tourism reopening solutions.

The Government has decided to fully reopen the tourism market from March 15. However, travel firms fear that foreign travelers won’t visit the country because of complicated procedures for entry visas.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Sports has expressed its disagreements with some proposed COVID-19 related guidance that it considers cumbersome.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has said that it has finalised a plan to reopen tourism activities in the new normal.

Dr Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of Vietnam Economics Institute, said Vietnam has the opportunity to recover the aviation and tourism industry and must not miss the opportunity.

Vietnam is slated to resume pre-pandemic bilateral and unilateral visa exemption policies for foreigners when the country fully reopens international tourism on March 15, announced the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang.

The proposals by MOH on requiring foreign arrivals not to leave accommodations for the first 72 hours in Vietnam have discouraged travel firms. They say the overly strict requirement is contrary to the Government’s policy on tourism reopening.