On March 3, The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism submitted to the Government a plan to fully reopen tourism from March 15. Many regulations are proposed to remain the same as in the draft plan to welcome international tourists.
The Private Economic Research and Development Board (Board IV), the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), and the Vietnam Tourism Association also agree on the proposal.
The proposal suggests new requirements for tourists to enter Vietnam including:
- Tourists must have a negative result for nCoV test within 72 hours before exiting their countries. In the previous regulation, tourists must have a negative result within 72 hours before entering Vietnam.
- Tourists must hold a Certificate of fully vaccinated or a Certificate of recovery from Covid.
The proposal states that this regulation is suitable for the current situation because a lot of travelers coming from long-distance places, having to take long flights, and may face force majeure situations, which may delay their entry.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also recommends that international visitors should go directly to their accommodation and take a nCoV test within 24 hours upon arrival.
Visitors entering by land, sea or rail are tested at the border gates. Anyone who has the negative nCoV test will be allowed to take part in tourism activities without having to quarantine.
The plan also states that the new regulations are aimed at equality for tourists, regardless of international or domestic, and create favorable conditions to attract foreign tourists to Vietnam.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recommends not to require administrative procedures for businesses when opening tourism activities because when reopening, businesses already have to comply with regulations and plans to ensure safety. However, the Ministry of Public Security has previously added that travel businesses need to develop a plan to welcome tourists.
In addition, the Ministry also proposed to soon restore the visa policy as before Covid-19 and apply PC-Covid App to support visitors. In addition, it is necessary to issue a Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate for Vietnamese to travel abroad.
