They are concerned about the reaction of the Ministry of Health to the draft plan drawn up by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to reopen international tourism from March 15.
The Ministry of Health has advised foreign tourists to stay at their accommodation for 72 hours upon arrival in Vietnam; the first 24 hours are mandatory. They will be tested for COVID-19 twice on the first and third days upon arrival. If tourists want to travel elsewhere a day later, they must be tested three times in a few days.
In addition, all travelers are required to provide a negative PCR test result within 72 hours before departure, not the rapid antigen test result recommended by the Ministry of Tourism.
The Ministry of Health has advised unvaccinated children under the age of 12 not to leave their accommodation until they have provided a negative coronavirus test result for seven consecutive days.
‘Illogical, inconsistent’
Nguyen Tien Dat, general manager of Hanoi tour operator AZA Travel, told VnExpress International The Ministry of Health’s latest response is “illogical and inconsistent” and runs counter to the government’s new strategy to safely tackle the pandemic.
“With less than two weeks until the country fully reopens to inbound tourism, inconsistent regulations from the Ministry of Health will leave the tourism industry in limbo,” he said.
“The country has lifted all the barriers for domestic tourists under the new normal, why don’t we treat foreign tourists the same as domestic tourists?” he wondered.
“Vietnam records more than 100,000 cases a day, and the chances of international tourists contracting Covid-19 from Vietnamese are much higher than their chances of contracting us,” he added.
Asian tourists always travel for four to five days, Dart said, and “if we asked them to stay in accommodation for three days, they would never come to Vietnam.”
Lux Group chief executive Pham Ha said he was disappointed by the health ministry’s response, as Vietnam has been slow to reopen for international tourism compared to regional countries and “we are losing the chance of recovery due to inconsistent regulations… …”
With these regulations, “the reopening of inbound tourism will be very difficult to succeed. I only see a bleak picture before my eyes,” he said.
He added that other countries in Southeast Asia have reopened borders to foreign tourists and lifted almost all travel restrictions, while Vietnam’s visa policy and entry requirements have not been clear and consistent.
Ha said many European tourists from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey are eager to return to Vietnam in May, but his company doesn’t know how to work with them now because the policy remains unclear.
A Ho Chi Minh City travel agency representative, who asked not to be named, said he was shocked by the response from the health ministry. The travel industry doesn’t have much time to prepare for these mandated reopenings, he said.
“No tourist will come to Vietnam to stay in a hotel for three days. If such strict testing and quarantine requirements remain, tourism will not be able to take off again,” he said.
Cao Zhi Dung, chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association, said the Ministry of Health’s advice posed new challenges to the tourism industry after being hit hard by the pandemic in the past two years.
“Reopening will not be possible without removing barriers to tourism,” Dung said, adding that the tourism industry was awaiting a final decision from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
The government announced that from March 15, Vietnam will fully reopen inbound tourism, allowing foreign tourists to visit the country without booking a tour package.
