New visa policy: Opportunity to draw international tourists

Since the beginning of the year, the Vietnamese Government has issued 2 resolutions on visa exemption for citizens of 15 countries. This is an opportunity for Vietnam tourism in general, and Khanh Hoa tourism in particular, to attract international tourists.

From 2023, the National Assembly agreed to extend the duration of electronic visa from 30 days to 90 days, valid for multiple entries; increase the temporary stay from 15 days to 45 days for citizens of countries unilaterally exempted from visa by Vietnam, creating a boost for drawing international tourists, while enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnam tourism with other countries in the region. According to statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), in the first two months of 2025, Vietnam welcomed nearly 4 million international visitors, an increase of 30% over the same period last year. In 2024, Vietnam tourism had a spectacular growth with nearly 17.6 million international visitors, an increase of 39.5% compared to 2023, reaching a recovery rate of 98% compared to 2019.

Polish tourists directly fly to Vietnam.

From a local perspective, the new visa policy also has a great impact on Khanh Hoa tourism. According to the report of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in the first two months of 2025, Khanh Hoa welcomed more than 974,000 international visitors, an increase of 13.7% over the same period last year. In 2024, Khanh Hoa welcomed more than 4.7 million international visitors, exceeding the plan by 58.9%. The spectacular growth of the international visitor number is thanks to attractive tourism products, marketing, promotion and the new visa policies. For example, with the Korean visitor market, thanks to the convenience of direct flight routes (more than 20 flights/day from Korea to Khanh Hoa), and visa exemption, the number of Korean visitors to Khanh Hoa has increased significantly in recent times. Le Thanh Trung - Director of Good Day Venaja Company Limited said: "Many Korean tourists travel to Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa like a weekend vacation. They just need to book flight tickets, accommodation online, and then "pack their bags and go". 

Korean tourists try to make pottery while staying at Champa Island Nha Trang.

In order to promote tourism development, aiming to complete the goal of welcoming 22 - 23 million international visitors in 2025, the Government recently issued Resolution No. 44 on visa exemption for citizens of 12 countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Russia, Japan, Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland with a temporary stay of 45 days from the date of entry on the basis of fully meeting the entry conditions according to the provisions of Vietnamese law. This policy is valid from March 15, 2025 to March 14, 2028 and may be considered for extension.

Earlier, in early 2025, the Government issued Resolution No. 11 on visa exemption under the 2025 Tourism Development Stimulus Program for citizens of Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland (effective from March 1 to December 31). Many travel businesses believe that the above two resolutions will create a boost to attract international tourists with high spending and long stays to Vietnam. Bui Quoc Dai - Deputy Sales Director of Anex Vietnam Trading and Tourism Company Limited commented: “The Government's visa exemption for tourists from these 15 countries is an opportunity for Vietnam tourism in general, and Khanh Hoa tourism in particular, to attract more international visitors, especially European visitors. For example, with the Polish tourist market, visitors are exempted from visas, so our company has the advantage of opening tours to bring visitors from Poland to Khanh Hoa. In particular, the new visa policy helps the company confidently coordinate with partners to reopen direct flights from 11 Russian cities to Khanh Hoa from mid-March 2025”.

Visa policy is becoming an advantage to attract visitors. Therefore, in Official Dispatch No. 22 dated March 9, 2025 on a number of key tasks and solutions to reduce administrative procedures, improve the business environment, and promote socio-economic development, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Police to continue researching and proposing to the Government a unilateral plan to exempt entry visas for a period of time for citizens of more countries. 

Xuan Thanh
Translated by T.T