Hanoi (VNA) – Thenew visa policy, taking effect from August 15, is creating a boost to the attractionof international tourists, but it is just the initial step and more long-termmeasures are required to make a breakthrough in this regard, according to insiders.

The National Assembly’sadoption of the law amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Exitand Entry of Vietnamese Citizens and the Law on Foreigners’ Entry into, Exitfrom, Transit through and Residence in Vietnam is good news for tourism businesses.

Under this law, the e-visa validity periodis extended to 90 days from 30 days. Within 90 days after the e-visa is granted,foreigners can enter and exit Vietnam for unlimited times and without having toapply for new visas. The law also permits citizens of the countries entitled toVietnam’s unilateral visa exemption to be granted a temporary residence periodof 45 days, instead of 15 days like in the past, and have visa granting andtemporary residence extension considered in line with regulations.

Suchregulations are highly favourable for foreign tourists who can visit Vietnam,travel in some regional countries, and then return to Vietnam. They can also directlyapply for visas without help from intermediaries, said Phung Quang Thang,Director of the Vietnam Sustainable Tourism Investment and Development JSC andVice Chairman of the Vietnam Society of Travel Agents.

A recent report by online travelplatform Agoda showed that Vietnam’s reformed e-visa policy has drawn muchattention from international travellers. The number of searches for policyinformation rose 33% within two weeks since the adoption.

Dataanalysis focused on long-haul travellers from North America, the EU, Australia,and New Zealand. They often have to board long and costly round-trip flights, sothey tend to plan longer holidays compared to tourists from nearby countries.

Given this, a more flexible andopener visa policy, boosted promotion activities, and increased flights willhelp Vietnam reach the foreign visitor target, according to Agoda.

Vu Van Tuyen, CEO of TravelogyVietnam, said as soon as the parliament approved the new visa policy, hiscompany readied over 260 long tours to serve Europeans and internationalvisitors in general.

Thefirm expects these tours will attract a number of travellers in late 2023 andearly 2024, he went on.

However, to help the policy proveeffective and the sector develop sustainably, it is necessary to have more concertedmeasures, insiders opined.

The growth in the annual number ofinternational tourist arrivals in Vietnam has surpassed that in Indonesia toreach the fourth place in Southeast Asia. However, in terms of revenue pertraveller, Vietnam has dropped to the sixth position from the fifth. Internationalvisitors’ spending in Vietnam is equivalent to just 40% compared to the figurein Thailand, statistics show.

Nguyen Manh Than, Chairman of theHanoi Tourism Association, pointed out the need to upgrade existing productsand create new ones to grab visitors’ interest.

He added that it is also important toimprove manpower quality since regardless of how goods products are, poormanpower will make the sector fail to attract tourists and meet their demand.

PhamXuan Quy, CEO of the Inbound Vietnam International Travel Co. Ltd, underlined thenecessity to improve services, noting that the units directly serving tourists,including hotels, restaurants, and shopping places, should professionalise andimprove the quality of their services to extend visitors' stay and encourage them tospend more.

Other insiders perceived thatoverarching, long-term, and breakthrough policies such as expanding thecoverage of the unilateral visa exemption, implementing more national-level promotionevents, and creating unique tourism products are needed to attract internationaltravellers./.