Vietnam to welcome fully vaccinated tourists from Thailand this month

Vietnam is setting up a “travel bubble” scheme with Thailand to allow vaccinated travellers to enter the Southeast Asian country. The head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Nguyen Trung Khanh, today says his department is working with Thai officials to set up the scheme, adding that the first batch of Thai tourists will arrive in Vietnam this month as part of the pilot vaccine passport program.

He also said Thailand has been successful in welcoming international tourists amid the ongoing pandemic with the “Phuket Sandbox” scheme.

From December, the Vietnamese government intends to resume regular international flights to 15 countries and territories with high immunisation rates.

According to Khanh, Thailand used to be the fastest-growing tourist market for Vietnam, with the number of visitors from that nation increasing by 46% prior to the pandemic in 2019.

Since its reopening in November, Vietnam has welcomed 978 foreign tourists to Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa, and Kien Giang provinces which have had a positive impact on the tourism industry after a nearly two-year hiatus due to border closures.

“Vietnam remains a popular and attractive tourist destination”, he added.

In 2020, the number of international visitors to Vietnam fell by 79%, compared to an all-time high of 18 million in 2019.

SOURCE: VN Express