Singaporeans most interested in Vietnam tourism reopening: Agoda

The rest of the top 10 were India, Malaysia, Australia, the U.K., Germany, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

Vietnam, which closed inbound tourism in March 2020, fully reopened its borders to foreign visitors last Tuesday with relaxed entry rules after nearly two years of stringent restrictions.

It has resumed its visa waiver policy for citizens from 24 countries, including Japan, South Korea and several European economies.

According to Agoda, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s busiest metropolis, Hanoi and Da Nang were the most searched destinations by foreign tourists.

A day after Vietnam reopened international tourism, Singaporean authorities decided to restore two-way quarantine-free travel with the country starting March 16.

A survey of 1,000 people in January commissioned by the Changi Airport Group, operator of the island nation’s award-winning airport, showed 90 percent of Singaporeans planned to visit Vietnam this year once entry restrictions were completely lifted.

In 2019, the year before the pandemic struck, more than 300,000 tourists from Singapore visited Vietnam.

With borders closed, the number of foreign arrivals to the country last year plunged by 96 percent against 2020.

This year, Vietnam has set a target of welcoming five to six million foreign tourists. In 2019, the year before the onset of the pandemic, it welcomed a record 18 million foreign tourists.