Hanoi (VNA) – The new visa policy, coming into force on August 15, is believedto open up various opportunities for tourism development, and stakeholders inthis industry are taking actions to seize those chances.

The National Assembly approved the law amending andsupplementing some articles of the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizensand the Law on Foreigners’ Entry into, Exit from, Transit through and Residencein Vietnam in late June.

Under this law, the e-visa validity period is extended to90 days from 30 days. Within 90 days after the e-visa is granted, foreigners can enter and exitVietnam for unlimited times and without having to apply for new visas. The lawalso permits citizens of the countries entitled to Vietnam’s unilateral visaexemption to be granted a temporary residence period of 45 days, instead of 15days like in the past, and have visa granting and temporary residence extensionconsidered in line with regulations.

As soon as the law was adopted in late June and took effecton August 15, foreigners’ searches for Vietnamese tourism have soared.

Online travel platform Agoda recorded in mid-July a surgeof 33% in the number of searches by international travellers planning longholidays in Vietnam compared to the two weeks before that.

Tran Thi Bao Thu, Director for marketing and communicationsof Vietluxtour, said the new visa policy provides a chance for businesses todiversify tourism products and improve service quality to attract visitors. Thecompany has received orders from partners in Europe, the US, and Northeast Asiafor the tours between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

Nguyen Xuan Quynh, CEO of Allez Voyage – a companyspecialising in the French and US market, held that the new visa policy willserve as an impetus for businesses to launch new products meeting tourists’demand for long holidays.

He called on the Government to expand the new visa policy’scoverage to more countries, and localities to improve the quality of servicesto draw more international visitors.

Phung Quang Thang, Standing Vice Chairman of the VietnamSociety of Travel Agents, said the new visa policy is just a factor of tourists’travel decisions. To encourage them to stay here longer and spend more, thesector should design new products and tours suiting long-stay travellers suchas tours combing destinations in Vietnam and neighbouring Laos and Cambodia.

To prepare for the expected surge in international arrivalsthis year and foster tourism development, the Ministry of Culture, Sports andTourism has taken many steps.

Notably, it has approved a strategy for tourism marketingby 2030 and a plan on some night-time tourism models. It also held a conferenceon August 15 to disseminate the new documents so as to help speed up tourismrecovery and development.

Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet said units and localitiesshould grasp chances generated by the new visa policy to make tourismdevelopment breakthroughs and quickly increase international visitors toVietnam.

Meanwhile, the Hanoi Tourism Department and the city’sinvestment, trade and tourism promotion centre have implemented many measuresto attract foreign tourists, including developing night-time and experience tourismproducts.

Local agencies and businesses are also planning to majorcultural and tourism events from now to the year’s end such as an autumnfestival, an “ao dai” tourism festival, and a gift festival./.