Travel firms concerned over new policies for tourists

While Vietnam is determined to reopen for international tourists from March 15, a new proposal from the Ministry of Health is raising concerns among travel agencies.

One of the draft regulations requires tourists to stay at their accommodation for the first 24 hours of entering Vietnam.

It is also recommended that tourists do not go outside during the first 72 hours.

If they do (after the first day), they will need to get tested for SARS-CoV-2 every day until the end of the 72-hour period.

The proposal has been met with concern from experts and businesses in the tourism sector.

According to Nguyen Duc Chi, former deputy head of the Travel Management Division (under HCM City Department of Tourism), statistics from the health ministry revealed that on March 1, international arrivals only accounted for around 0.02% of the daily national caseload (98,743 infections).

This means that it is tourists who should be worried about the risk of infection when they come to Vietnam, not the other way around, he said.

Sharing the same opinion, Nguyen Chau A, director of tour operator Oxalis, emphasised that the new document was an obstacle to inbound tourism resumption starting on March 15, he said to Vietnamnet.

Director of Images Travel & Events Nguyen Ngoc Toan also commented that the proposed regulation was a move “against growth”.

Pham Ha, chairman of Lux Group, told Vietnam News Agency that post-arrival travel restrictions and policy inconsistency could lead to failures in attracting international tourists.

He added that neighbouring country Thailand has already removed numerous obstacles for inbound tourists, with few travel restrictions after arrival.

With major global changes and the complicated outbreak in Vietnam, many travel agencies believed that it would be difficult to have international tourists when the country reopens in less than two weeks. — Vietnam News/ANN