Hanoi (VNA) – The electronic visa (e-visa) pilot scheme, implementedsince the beginning of this year, has had a positive impact on Vietnam’stourism industry.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) under theMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, after four months of implementation,more than 22,000 tourists from the US, the UK, France, Poland, Czech Republic,Germany, Ireland, Slovakia, Japan, Sweden and China who do not use biometricpassports have requested e-visas on the country’s immigration portal at //www.immigration.gov.vn.

Some 21,000 tourists received e-visas, 12,000 of whom entered thecountry. Security procedures were conducted properly at airports andborder gates, ensuring the safety of passengers.

Vu The Binh, Standing Vice Chairman of the VNAT, said that the issuance ofe-visas has made it easier for citizens of 40 foreign countries to visitVietnam.

The visa-exemption policy for citizens from the UK, France, Germany, Spain andItaly, which has been in force since July 2015, has also boosted the number ofEuropean tourists to the country while maintaining tourism revenue, hesaid.

Statistics showed that total arrivals from these five countries to Vietnamincreased 15.4 percent within 12 months since the policy was launched. In thefirst four months of 2017, the number of tourists hit 333,000, up 15 percentyear on year.

Thepolicy helped Vietnam attract 720,000 tourists from these countries in thefirst 12 months – an increase of 96,000 tourists compared to the same period in2014 – yielding total revenues of 126 million USD, while the deficit in visafees caused by the exemption was 21.6 million USD, Binh said.

The number of European tourists to Vietnam last year increased by 58,000, whospent 76 million USD, while the deficit in visa fees was 2.3 million USD, headded.

The increased number of tourists and revenues created development opportunitiesfor several types of tourism service, he said.

Simplifying immigration procedures is a common trend around the world.According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2016-17 from the World EconomicForum (WEF), the percentage of tourists requesting visas to enter a countrydecreased from 77 percent in 2008 to 58 percent in 2016.

Some 85 percent of the world’s nations have applied solutions to simplifyimmigration procedures over the last two years.

In Southeast Asia, apart from Vietnam, which is waiving visas for citizens from22 countries, Malaysia is waiving visas for 155 countries and territories,Singapore 158, Indonesia 169, and Brunei 58.  

These countries are also applying visa-on-arrival and e-visa policies.-VNA