Vietnam‘s tourism industry is on track for a full recovery thanks to a surge in European visitors and a favorable visa policy, according to a top official.
Nguyen Trung Khanh, director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, reported strong growth from European markets during a recent National Assembly session.
Countries like Spain, Germany, the U.K., and France are all nearing pre-pandemic tourist arrival levels.
This positive trend is attributed to a visa exemption program launched in August 2023.
The program extended the visa-free stay for tourists from these European nations from 15 to 45 days. Vietnam currently offers visa-free travel to citizens of 25 countries, with plans to expand the program further.
Industry leaders are proposing additional measures to attract even more international visitors.
These include extending visa exemptions to wealthier Western nations and offering short-term visas for high-tourist-volume countries like China and India.
With a full recovery expected in 2024, Vietnam aims to welcome 18 million international tourists and generate VND840 trillion (US$33.96 billion) in tourism revenue this year.
