VOV.VN - The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a conference on August 15 to disseminate new legal documents as part of efforts to boost tourism recovery and development in an effective and sustainable fashion.
The law relating to amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens and of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of foreigners in Vietnam took effect from August 15. In line with this, the duration of an electronic visa is to be extended to 90 days from 30.
Citizens of the countries which are unilaterally exempted from visas by Vietnam will be granted temporary residence for up to 45 days from the current period of 15 days and can be considered for visa issuance and temporary residence extension according to regulations.
Upon addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet said the country welcomed 6.6 million foreign visitors during the first seven months of this year, whilst domestic tourists were at an estimated 76.5 million in the reviewed period. As a result, the country earned VND416.6 trillion, equal to US$17.4 billion, from the tourism industry.
The conference aims to enhance the role and responsibility of the sector in effectively implementing tasks and solutions, thereby creating a high consensus in terms of awareness and action of the tourism industry, as well as relevant industries, localities, businesses, and people, Deputy Minister Viet said.
He highlighted the need to take drastic actions which contribute to creating breakthroughs in tourism development, including seizing opportunities created by a more open visa policy which help the tourism industry develop rapidly whilst increasing the number of foreign travelers to the country.
It is therefore necessary for the industry to promote the dynamism and creativity of enterprises in tourism recovery and development efforts, the official added.
From now until the end of the year, the Ministry will submit to the Government a master plan detailing the country’s tourism development system for the 2021 to 2030 period, with a vision towards 2045, Deputy Minister Viet said, adding that it will also build a national database specifically on tourism. In addition, it will research and develop a project on setting up Vietnamese tourism promotion offices abroad, with priority given to key markets.
