The Tourism Advisory Board is proposing longer visa waivers and visa exemption for tourists from more countries, as bigger numbers of foreign arrivals will result in bigger revenues far eclipsing revenues earned from visa fees.

International tourists are seen enjoying a rickshaw tour in HCMC. The Tourism Advisory Board is asking the Government to offer an easier visa policy for tourists 

The board proposed the Government to extend a visa-free stay to 30 days from the current 15 days for citizens of another six countries including Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium as this move will attract more arrivals and encourage tourists to stay longer and spend more.

Currently, tourists from these six countries stay in Vietnam for an average of 14.4 to 17.1 days and a person spends about US$1,200 to 1,600 on tourism services. A large number of tourists from these countries visited Vietnam last year, with 320,000 Australians, 122,000 Canadians and 67,000 Dutch tourists.

According to data of the board, Vietnam has stricter visa policy for foreigners compared to other countries in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Vietnam allows tourists from 23 countries to enter and stay in the country without a visa while Thailand offers visa-free travel to citizens of 58 countries, Malaysia 164, Singapore 160, Indonesia 169 and the Philippines 160 for up to 30 or even 90 days.

The advisory agency cited data of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the General Statistics Office of Vietnam saying that a tourist from visa waiver countries such as France, Denmark and Norway spends more than US$1,000 and their vacations often last more than 15 days.

According to a research of the World Tourism Organization and the World Travel & Tourism Council, the visa exemption policy will help increase the number of tourists coming to ASEAN countries by 3-5.1% plus an increase in job creation by 1.6-3.1%.

Last year, Vietnam welcomed over 10 million international visitors and the number grew 30.2% to more than 6.2 million in the first half of 2017. The tourism sector offered jobs to 750,000 people in 2015.

The Tourism Advisory Board said that the extension of the visa waiver for citizens from five Western European countries has increased the number of tourists from these markets by 10.1%.

Vietnam last year welcomed 320,700 Australian tourists with average spending of US$1,500 a person. The sector will welcome an additional 9,620 visitors and earn an extra US$14 million with a 3% increase in arrivals. The additional revenue is expected to reach US$24 million and US$47 million respectively with 5.1% and 10.1% increase in the number of tourists.

Meanwhile, a US$25 fee when applying for a Vietnam visa is trivial compared to revenue from tourism services.

The Tourism Advisory Board groups managers and directors of hotels, travel companies, transport enterprises, tourism associations, training institutions, and representatives of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the European Chamber of Commerce.

The board’s visa exemption proposals will be submitted to the Prime Minister at a meeting slated for the end of July.

SGT