Prime Minister orders reform of online visa application process

Customers waiting to check in for a flight to Việt Nam at Incheon Airport — Photo VNA/VNS Anh Nguyên

HÀ NỘI — To streamline the visa application process and aid the tourism sector's post-pandemic recovery, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has called for a reform of electronic visa applications.

PM Chính ordered authorities to be flexible and creative in the era of globalisation. The market for tourism services must be diverse in terms of giving the customer what they need.

In the last two years, Vietnamese tourism has been under the pressure of the pandemic. In  二0 二0, the number of international guests dropped by  八0 per cent, and the total revenue from tourists dropped by  六0 per cent compared to  二0 一 九. The total revenue even dropped deeper to  九 六 per cent in  二0 二 一.

In  二0 二 二, Việt Nam completely reopened its tourism industry and although tourism is gradually recovering, the number of international guests in Việt Nam only reached  七0 per cent of the expected goal in  二0 二 二. This is due to Việt Nam not having a breakthrough solution to boost post-pandemic tourism. The Government leader ordered the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism to complete the directive to attract international tourists to Việt Nam in the new era, which is due in January.

At the seminar for attracting international tourists organised in late December  二0 二 二, Nguyễn Văn Hùng, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that many countries were competing with Việt Nam by the no-visa policies.

Malaysia and Singapore have  一 六 二 countries under the visa-free list, the Philippines have  一 五 七 countries, Thailand has  六 五, and Việt Nam only has  二 四 countries on its list.

Whilst most ASEAN countries have a  三0 to  四 五-day visa-free duration, Việt Nam had a  一 五-day visa-free policy, which is too short compared to other countries in the region and inappropriate for the long duration of international guests, especially in markets such as Europe, which tourists usually holiday for three or four weeks.

To boost international guests to Việt Nam, Hùng reco妹妹ended an e-visa application for all guest markets and simplifying the application process. Hùng also suggested lengthening the visa-free duration for international guests to  三0 days and testing the visa application at border gates.

Hoàng Nhân Chính, Head Secretary of the Travel Advisory Board of Việt Nam (TAB), said that the visa-free list needed to be expanded, and the duration must be extended, and guests could have the ability to reenter multiple times. E-visa application websites must have an easy-to-search domain.

However, the visa is not the main reason behind tourism's stagnation, according to Deputy Minister of Public Security Lương Tam Quang.

From March  一 五,  二0 二 二, the Ministry of Public Security has restored the visa policies and applied many new rules to fit the current situation, according to Quang. There are  八0 countries and regions with e-visa for Việt Nam i妹妹igration.

"After the testing of e-visa, the Ministry is currently upgrading the e-visa system and reforming the i妹妹igration process,"大众said Quang.

In  二0 二 二, Việt Nam welcomed nearly  三. 七 million international visitors, down  七 九. 七 per cent compared to  二0 一 九, the pre-pandemic period, falling short of the  五 million target. The country has set a target of  八 million foreign tourists this year.— VNS