The Government has approved the granting of electronic visa for foreign visitors to Vietnam from early next year, said the Vietnam National Tourism Administration (VNAT).

In the initial phase, e-visa will be issued on a trial basis for tourists from major source markets of Vietnam’s tourism sector, a source from the VNAT told the Daily. However, the Government has not chosen what markets for the trial run, the source said.

International arrivals in Vietnam last year totaled over 7.94 million, with most of them coming from China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, the U.S., Russia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia, shows data of VNAT.

Among those major markets, Vietnam has offered visa exemptions for tourists from South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

VNAT said it will organize two road shows to promote Vietnam’s tourism in Kaohsiung and Taichung cities in Taiwan between October 18 and 20, as well as attend a bilateral meeting on tourism between Vietnam and Taiwan to discuss measures for boosting tourism development cooperation between the two destinations.

SGT