The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has proposed the Government resumes pre-pandemic waivers of visas for tourists from 24 countries when the country restarts international tourism.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has recently tasked the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to work with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to promptly announce a new roadmap on reopening of tourism market.

About 6.2 million people traveled during the nine-day Tet holiday, according to VNAT. But most were independent tourists who did not buy tours from travel firms.

The Kon Ha Nung Plateau in Gia Lai and Nui Chua Biosphere Reserve in Ninh Thuan were recognised as new world biosphere reserves by UNESCO, taking the number of global biosphere reserves in Vietnam to 11.

The central city of Da Nang ranks first in tourism competitiveness in Vietnam in 2021.

Over 15,500 licensed tour guides have been put out of work for more than two years due to the pandemic and many of them have decided to leave the tourism sector permanently to earn a living elsewhere.

CNBC - the famous American television channel, officially broadcasted the interview with Deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Ha Van Sieu, regarding Vietnam tourism, on January 17 (local time).

A senior Government official in charge of tourism suggested Vietnam should fully reopen the door to international tourism in April 2022 in order to speed up its ongoing tourism recovery.

The Vietnamese Red River Delta has been named among the list of the top 52 Places for a Changed World in 2022, as selected by the New York Times of the United States.

The market is completely new after Covid-19. All players, small and large, will be at the starting point. Those who have a good start will obtain more market share.

As part of the Government’s cultural development strategy, Vietnam aims to have three cities in the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network across many fields, including cuisine, by 2030.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, at least 35% of international tour operators have applied to have their licenses revoked, while 90-95% of businesses are closed due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than 700,000 small and micro enterprises in the food and beverage sector have suspended their operations, said Nguyen Quoc Ky, chairman of Vietravel and the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association.

For the January-November period of 2021, the number of domestic tourists was 34.75 million, and total revenue was 167 trillion VND, 40% down year on year.

The homestay service in the northern province of Quang Ninh has dynamic growth since 2018, showing off the popular trend of short-term accommodation in the province.

Implementing the second phase of a pilot program on foreign travelers from December 15, 2021 and allowing Vietnamese to travel abroad are among the proposals from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST).

Resumption of safe travel under a ‘tourism bubble’ between Hanoi and 11 cities and provinces is facing challenges.

The owner of a cruise ship sold his three houses to pay debts, while the owner of a hotel hung up a door plate asking for help from the local government. Both are signs of the dire conditions in the tourism sector.

Travel firms are concerned about the inconsistency of policies. The unpredictability makes it impossible to plan their business, they say.

As the tourism market has been in the doldrums during Covid-19, travel firm CEOs have had to take other jobs to earn a living. But in many cases, these choices ended up opening up great opportunities for them.