By Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit, TTR Weekly
Vietnam visa
HANOI : Tourism executives believe Vietnam’s failure to act on its promises to simplify visa procedures, including rules related to visa-on-arrival, could damage the country’s ability to become a tourism leader and gateway in ASEAN.
According to the Vietnam Business Forum annual report, a consortium of international and local business associations and chambers of commerce, the country has made “no progress” in ushering in a transparent, open, and effective visa-on-arrival system.
“It has been noted the ‘visa-on-arrival’ areas at airports provide no clear information on the necessary forms, policies, or fees; little English is spoken; and there is no queuing/numbering system in place.”
This is in contrast to most other Southeast Asian countries, which have efficient visa-on-arrival systems that make it easy for tourists to plan their trips.
For Vietnam, tourists have to apply for their visas weeks in advance, send their passports to the Vietnamese embassies or go online for letters to confirm their visas will be issued on arrival, and then end up waiting for a long time after arriving in the country.
The report added: “With the exception of Myanmar, Vietnam is the only country in Southeast Asia where visitors from major tourist generating nations … still have to go through a pre-approval process before travelling.”
When tourists visit Cambodia or Laos, they pay US$25 for a visa-on-arrival, while Vietnam charges almost double at US$45 for a 30-day or 90-day single entry visa, the most expensive in the region.
Read the full story by Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit from TTR Weekly.
