Full tourism reopening also marks official resumption of int’l exchange: Deputy PM
The date March 15 marked not only Vietnam’s complete reopening to foreign tourists but also the country’s official resumption of international exchange like the pre-pandemic period, with some measures taken to manage risks and ensure safety for all, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has said.
Addressing a conference which was held on March 15 in both online and offline forms and connected to several localities across the country and 94 Vietnamese embassies and representative agencies abroad, he noted the reopening of international tourism doesn’t mean Vietnam is racing with some other countries that have taken similar steps earlier, but the decision was made in a highly prudent process.
After the reopening, tourism recovery will not take place quickly in just a few days or weeks, but it will take several months or longer, Dam added.
Some participants in the meeting pointed out that official medical requirements for people entering Vietnam haven’t been issued while the country has restored international tourism.
In response, Deputy PM Dam said the Government's leaders had ordered the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to work with the Ministry of Health to issue instructions, but the Ministry of Health is still consulting with specialised agencies.
He repeated the Government and the PM’s viewpoint of not differentiating between foreigners and Vietnamese nationals in COVID-19 prevention and control. Air passengers must have a testing certificate before boarding, so they will be treated in the same way with those in Vietnam. Meanwhile, others who come to Vietnam by waterway, road, and railway will have to comply with some anti-pandemic rules.
Dam also called on Vietnamese ambassadors and overseas representative agencies, along with businesses and people working in the tourism industry, to join hands to opportunely seize reopening chances so as to soon revive the sector and make up for the pandemic-caused losses over the last two years.
