Vietnam hopes 1 million South Korean tourists will visit this year: minister

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung called on South Korea to ease border restrictions saying Vietnam hopes to receive one million Korean tourists this year.

After Vietnam reopened its borders and gradually lifted Covid restrictions, South Korean tourists have accounted for a fifth of its international visitors, he told his South Korean counterpart, Park Bo Gyun, at a meeting in Seoul on Monday.

More than 500,000 came in the first nine months, the highest of any nationality.

Park said he has visited Vietnam five times and loves the country and its people.

South Korea plans to organize many cultural exchange and tourism promotion activities to boost tourism between the two countries, he said.

Before the pandemic, Vietnam welcomed nearly 4.3 million South Korean tourists in 2019, accounting for a fourth of all foreign arrivals.

Vietnam grants South Korean tourists 15-day visa exemption.

The country targets five million tourists this year, or around 30% of pre-pandemic levels.