THE Vietnamese government has announced plans to offer one-year tourist visas to US citizens. Currently, the longest tourist visa available to Americans is three months.
The extended visa proposal is Vietnam’s latest move to bolster its sagging tourism numbers. Last month, the country began offering visa-free entry to citizens from six European nations.
No specific time frame has been unveiled, but according to the state-run Vietnam News Agency, tourism minister Hoang Tuan Anh told the US State Department last week that he hoped Vietnam would see one million American visitors annually by 2017, more than double the number in 2014.
Suzanne Chater, project manager at Exo Travel Vietnam, called the proposal “a step in the right direction” although it is unlikely that visitors will stay for a year. American visitors, in particular, tend to have limited leave and visit Vietnam for one to two weeks.
And neither does Tran Hoang Gia, manager of An An Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, think that longer visas would have a significant impact on hotel bookings. Tourists usually opt for an apartment if they are staying for extended periods, he said.
Reporting by Dave Fox
