Vietnam set to welcome overseas tourists

Vietnam will reopen borders to vaccinated foreign visitors from 15 March, according to reports 

It’s expected that visitors (aged 12 and above) to Vietnam will need to prove that they have been fully vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19, and will have to show a negative Covid-19 test result before departure and upon arrival.

Glen Mintrim, chief executive at Asia specialist Wendy Wu Tours, said: “This is great news for the travel industry, as it sets the scene for the reopening of the rest of Asia.

“We already know that Japan are piloting a sequential reopening this spring and with Vietnam reopening we are looking forward to a huge resurgence in Asia travel.”

The operator said the reopening of Vietnam is three months earlier than originally planned and follows similar steps taken by other southeast Asia countries, including Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines.

Inside Travel Group, parent of InsideAsia Tours, also welcomed the news and said it was now gearing up to take more sales.

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Partnerships manager James Mundy said: “This is great news for us as a specialist tour operator and something that we have been looking forward to for such a long time, along with our customers and partners on the ground.

“There are of course some requirements for international visitors in terms of post-arrival PCR tests and proving vaccinations, but it is definitely a move in the right direction.”

InsideAsia Tours, which has offered Vietnam since 2013, has revamped its website and is offering additional itineraries and destinations for post-pandemic travel. It offers seven Vietnam trips, including a new 12-night Vietnam Landscapes trip, starting in Hanoi and taking visitors to the green rice fields and ethnic communities of Pu Luong and to the karst scenery of Lan Ha Bay.