Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam chaired a working session on October 14 with leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Health to deliberate on gradual resumption of domestic tourism and pilot reopening to foreign tourists. 

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam chairs a working session with leaders of the Ministry
of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Health on resumption of tourism
activities, Ha Noi, October 14, 2021 - Photo: VGP/Dinh Nam 

The issue was taken into consideration as the country’s vaccine coverage rate is increasing quickly and more vaccines are expected to land in Viet Nam from now to the end of this year.

Vu tasked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to adopt concrete instructions on how the tourism sector would adapt safely to the COVID-19.

He also asked the Ministry of Transport to promptly issue concrete instructions for road, railway and air transport activities.

Earlier in September, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh agreed with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s proposal to trial the reopening of Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang to foreign tourists.

From November 2021 to March 2022, Phu Quoc Island will be the first destination to welcome foreign arrivals on a pilot basis, mainly from source markets with good management of the COVID-19 pandemic and high vaccination rate such as Northeast Asia, the Europe, the U.S., the Middle East and Australia. 

Foreign tourists who wish to visit the island shall be required to get fully vaccinated, with the second dose taken at least 14 days and not more than 12 months before the date of entry and must be tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours before their departure.

Based on the outcomes of the pilot policy in Phu Quoc island, the tourism sector may consider reopening of other favorite tourist destinations such as Ha Long Bay in northern province of Quang Ninh, Hoi An City in the central province of Quang Nam, Nha Trang City in the central province of Khanh Hoa and Da Lat City in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong, to foreign arrivals. 

Meanwhile, from November this year, localities where the pandemic is put under control may consider allowing domestic visitors who are fully vaccinated provided that preventive measures are observed.

Director General of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh said that in 2020, Viet Nam only received 3.7 million foreign arrivals, down 80 percent compared to 2019 while the number of domestic visitors decreased by 34 percent, reaching 56 million. 

Revenue gained from tourism was estimated at only VND312,200 billion, down 59 percent.  

Over the first nine months of 2021, around 31. 5 million domestic visitors were recorded, down 16 percent.