Visa fee exemption for international tourists to Vietnam

      Visitors to Vietnam, under the programme “Impressive Vietnam”, will be exempted from visa fees in the coming time, said the National Tourism Administration.
Vu The Binh, head of the Travelling Department under the Administration, said that the Prime Minister agreed on exempting visa fees for tourists applying for the promotion tours offered by international travelling businesses.
The Administration and the Ministry of Public Security are exempting these regulations for the upcoming time.
Visa fees for tourist entry into Vietnam currently run about a dozen to over US $100, based on each individual country.
Moreover, the National Tourism Administration will promote popular activities to attract more tourists from key markets such as ASEAN, China, France, the Republic of Korea, Japan and the US and caravan tourists.
The Impressive Vietnam programme launched in early January, 2009 has produced over 300 tours.
After four months, inbound tourism increased 35-50% over the same period last year. However, outbound tourists numbers were reduced to 18%.
During the second phase of the programme, by September 2009, the tourist sector will focus on inbound tourism.