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The Vietnam Tourism Association has proposed to continue visa exemptions for Western European tourists to boost tourism.

Tourists at the Pagoda of Celestial Lady in Thua Thien-Hue Province

According to the Vietnam Tourism Association, in order to implement the government’s resolution to turn tourism into Vietnam’s key sector, visa exemptions should be continued for visitors from major tourist markets.

The association said they had received requests from tourism firms and local tourism associations to continue visa exemptions for tourists from France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belarus and the UK for five years.

They also suggested exempting visas for visitors from India, Australia, Canada, and countries in Eastern Europe including Poland, Czech, Bulgaria and Hungary, as well as former Soviet countries.

Vu The Binh, the association’s vice chairman, said it was competitive as neighbouring countries all have open visa policies.

“Expanding visa exemptions is a common trend.

Thailand exempts visa for tourists from 61 countries, Malaysia exempts visa for 155 countries and in Singapore, it’s 158. Meanwhile, we have only exempted visa for 22 countries,” he said.

Tourism firms said since the visa exemption programme only lasted for one year, they didn’t dare spend too much on promotion. Normally, their short-term plans last from three to five years and over five years for long-term plans. The one-year visa exemption has only attracted independent tourists as firms await a more stable policy.

Tran Thi Viet Huong from Vietravel said most European tourists plan their vacations six months to a year in advance while the programme would end this June. This will affect their decision-making about holidays next year.

Le Tuan Anh, Deputy Director of the International Co-operation Department of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said they had suggested extended the programme to five years and raise the standard length of stay for tourist visas from 15 to 30 days during meetings with other agencies.

“Resolution 8 on developing tourism states that pilot programmes can be carried out for urgent matters that don’t have their own regulations yet. This suits the tourism sector which includes many other sectors. Thanks to it that the e-visa programme was piloted quickly in February,” Anh said.

The number of visitors from Europe dramatically increased after the visa exemption was introduced. In the first quarter, the number of visitors from France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK reached 240,000, an increase of 12% compared to same period last year.

The growth rates from Spain were 23%, 13% from Italy, 13% from Germany, 11% from France and 9% from the UK.

Vu The Binh, the Vietnam Tourism Association’s vice chairman, emphasised that the e-visa was different programme and they still needed to expand the visa exemption programme.

Source Dtinews

The West Australian Vietnam Business Council (WAVBC) promotes and supports the development of bilateral trade and investment between Australia and Vietnam. We are proud to have a pivotal function in providing invaluable business and cultural support to our members’ by encouraging cultural exchanges between the business communities of Western Australia and Vietnam.

The WAVBC actively co-ordinates an annual program of business seminars, networking, and social functions within Western Australia.

WAVBC President David Morgan was in Sydney recently and caught with Australian Vietnam Business Council (AVBC) President Laurence Strano. The AVBC has been in existence for over twenty years and has a strong membership base that includes many of Australia’s leading corporate companies. David provided Laurence with an update of the recent WAVBC progress in restablishing the WAVBC in Western Australia and discussion took place about how the two councils could work together in the future to meet our joint objectives of providing value to our members and sponsors. Laurence advised that he is well advanced on establishing a new Vietnam Business Council in Queensland over the coming months which will add to our national presence.

By Reuters/Matthew Tostevin   May 17, 2017 | 04:23 pm GMT+7

A motorbike waits in front of a sign promoting APEC Summit in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters/Kham

Support has built among the so-called TPP-11 for pushing ahead without the United States.

Japan and other remaining members of the Trans Pacific Partnership will this weekend decide how to revive the trade agreement ditched by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Their trade ministers will talk on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, where newly appointed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is also due to give more detail of Washington’s trade plans.

Uncertainty over those plans after Trump abandoned a trade deal he had compared to the “rape” of America has brought fears of protectionism and strengthened China’s leadership credentials in Asia.

Support has built among the so-called TPP-11 for pushing ahead without the United States although trade within the smaller block is only a quarter of that between the original 12 members, according to the most recent data.

Moving ahead could help the bargaining position of the members in bilateral talks with the United States.

It could also undercut the increasing regional dominance of China, which is not part of the TPP and backs a bigger but less comprehensive free trade agreement for Asia.

“We’ll be looking to see whether TPP ministers say they are definitely pushing ahead by simply by changing the articles,” said Alan Bollard, executive director of the APEC Secretariat.

“Or whether they come out and say they’re positive about the prospects but need more discussions,” he told Reuters in Hanoi.

After initially appearing reluctant to move ahead without the United States, Japan is at the forefront of the push along with New Zealand. Japan has emphasised that it would ultimately like to bring the United States back in.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan wanted to “steer the debate toward a clear direction” in Hanoi.

The backing of some other members is less clear.

Vietnam would have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the original TPP because of lower tariffs and more investment from the United States. Malaysia is in a similar position and an official there voiced hope of an eventual return to the TPP.

Pushing TPP forward could help Japan’s position in negotiating a bilateral deal with the United States, said Nguyen Xuan Thanh of the Harvard Kennedy School. The same would apply for Vietnam, he said.

“It’s part of the game,” he told Reuters. “You don’t want to be seen as desperate for bilateral deals.”

Lighthizer in spotlight

New U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer’s individual meetings with counterparts, particularly from the world’s second biggest economy, China, will be closely watched.

Mexico and Canada, with which Trump seeks to renegotiate their North American Free Trade Agreement are also in APEC.

Trump’s “America First” trade strategy relies on better enforcement of U.S. trade laws and existing trade agreements, while trying to negotiate some to the advantage of the United States.

Lighthizer has said he will make trade “freer and fairer” to the benefit of U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses.

The final statement from APEC trade ministers will be scrutinised for any change to language which last year emphasised “free and open” trade and investment. It made no mention of the word “fair”.

The renewed push on the TPP has somewhat overshadowed progress towards the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), championed by Beijing, and which members hope to sign by the end of the year.

The agreement includes both China and India, but not the United States. It is largely about reducing tariffs and much less comprehensive than TPP: it has limited protections for intellectual property, labour rights or the environment.

China would not be particularly happy to see TPP taking on new life even without the United States, said Tu Xinquan, a trade expert at Beijing’s University of International Business and Economics.

“I also don’t think China would or should take an action specifically responding to it,” he said.

For the TPP to take effect without the United States it would have to drop a rule requiring ratification by at least six countries accounting for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic product of the original member nations.