“I am very disappointed […] The Vietnamese government has no policy on visa and entry requirements at this late stage and is a day away from fully reopening the tourism industry,” Sydney’s Ken Raft told VnExpress International.
Raft said he has booked flights, accommodation and tours in Vietnam for November 2021 as he plans to visit with his wife, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren from March 31.
His family plans to visit popular tourist destinations such as Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hanoi and Ninh Binh during this trip.
Raft said he had visited Vietnam three times before, the last time in March 2020. However, he arrived in Vietnam on March 13 but had to leave just three days later due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vietnam suspended all international flights and closed inbound tourism in March 2020 to curb the spread of the pandemic.
Although Raft is keen to return to Vietnam for a visit this month, he is baffled because so far there has been no official information on visa policies or entry rules.
He added: “I’ve heard of everything from three days of quarantine after arriving in Vietnam to one night of quarantine or even no quarantine. It seems that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism disagree on what policy to adopt.”
Ivana Katrinka Palacios from the Philippines was also “disappointed” as the reopening is only a day away and Vietnam has no concrete or clear tourism reopening plan.
“Foreigners are hesitant to come to a country that has been changing policies. Now is the time for Vietnam to issue a travel policy that will make it easier for all of us to follow,” she said.
Palacios plans to visit Vietnam, especially Hanoi, but she has been grappling with Vietnam’s reopening policy.
“As Vietnam still has no unclear policies and inconsistent regulations, I plan to reschedule my trip and will wait a few months as clear, consistent and foreigner-friendly regulations are already in place,” she added.
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Raft said he really doesn’t want to take his family to any other country because he wants to show his grandchildren why he thinks Vietnam is his ideal vacation destination.
“I hope tomorrow (March 15), we will hear the final rules and regulations on entry into Vietnam,” he said.
Palacios said she hoped Vietnam would develop foreign-friendly rules in its tourism reopening policy.
“Vietnam should consider tourism policies that can be implemented by neighbouring countries. ASEAN countries have been dealing with the same struggles or problems as Covid-19 but are still able to open up to foreign tourists,” she added.
From March 15, Vietnam will lift most travel restrictions, allowing foreign tourists to visit the country without booking a tour package.
Vietnam has welcomed more than 10,000 foreign tourists since last November as the country partially reopened to international tourism under a vaccine passport scheme. However, not many foreigners are satisfied with the requirement that they have to stay in a resort or hotel area during their stay in Vietnam.
This year, the country has set a target of 5 to 6 million foreign tourists. In 2019, the year before the outbreak, it welcomed a record 18 million foreign tourists.
Last year’s foreign arrivals fell 96% from 2020 due to border closures.
In a proposal to fully reopen the tourism industry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism rejected the Ministry of Health’s proposal to increase quarantine time and Covid-19 testing for foreign tourists entering Vietnam.
In the proposal submitted to Premier Fan Mingqing for approval, the tourism ministry suggested retaining the original requirement that foreign tourists, if they test negative for the virus, should immediately go to their place of accommodation and move freely within 24 hours of entry.
The Ministry of Health’s advice is for tourists to self-isolate for three days and get tested two or three times during that time. It also recommends that unvaccinated children should self-isolate for seven days and be tested daily.
There have also been proposals to remove coronavirus testing and vaccination requirements for foreign arrivals.
So far, the government has not made a final decision on these issues.
