Vietnam travel firms see strong recovery in outbound tourism

Representatives of several tour operators said the number of Vietnamese tourists booking tours to Asia, the Middle East and Europe in March has increased two to three times over last month.

Leading tour operator Vietravel said the company will take four groups of tourists to Dubai, three to Thailand, one to Maldives and another to Singapore this month. It will also organize a tour to India by charter flight next month.

HCMC-based Pan American Travel said weekly tours to Dubai from now until April are fully booked.

With visa procedures expected to take much time, the company is scheduling tours to Europe, the U.S. and Australia next month as visa procedures are expected to take much time.

Hanoi-based Flamingo Redtours will take two groups of tourists to Dubai on April 28 and 30.

Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, deputy marketing head at travel firm Vietravel, said her company is seeing positive signs in the outbound tourism market after many countries have adopted open tourism policies.

Dubai, Thailand and Maldives are the destinations most preferred by Vietnamese tourists because of simple visa procedures and Covid-testing and quarantine exemptions.

Ngo Van Thoa, director of Pan American Travel, said as of March 10, over 50 countries have scrapped PCR testing on arrival requirements for fully vaccinated tourists, including Croatia, Denmark, Dubai, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

The European Union (EU) lifted its non-essential travel ban and has allowed entry to all fully vaccinated travelers from outside the bloc, including Vietnam, from March 1. India is scheduled to resume regular flights after two years starting March 27 with relaxed travel rules.

In addition to tour packages, many solo travelers have been flocking to travel abroad post Covid over the past weeks. On travel fanpages, more people are sharing tips on ensuring smooth trips in the new normal period.

Vietnam is set to reopen full inbound and outbound tourism on March 15.

The country has resumed commercial flights to 20 of 28 countries and territories that it had direct flights to before the pandemic.

Under current regulations, fully vaccinated people and those who have recovered from Covid-19 need to self-isolate for three days after arriving in Vietnam.

Everyone, except children below two, must have tested negative for the novel coronavirus using the PCR method no more than 72 hours before departure.