Visa relaxation - a driving force to attract international visitors

Leverage for international visitor growth

Recently, the Government issued Resolution No. 229/NQ-CP on visa exemption under the tourism stimulus program for citizens of 12 countries, including: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. Citizens of these countries are allowed to stay temporarily for 45 days from the date of entry for tourism purposes, regardless of passport type, on the basis of meeting all entry conditions according to Vietnamese law, applicable from August 15, 2025 to August 14, 2028.

Along with the above policy, the Government also issued Decree No. 221/2025/ND-CP on temporary visa exemption for foreigners in special need of incentives to serve socio -economic development, including: Guests of Party and State leaders; scholars, experts; investors, leaders of large enterprises; celebrities working in the fields of culture, arts, sports, tourism; and other special cases. The Decree takes effect from August 15, 2025.

According to experts, this new regulation not only creates a lever for international tourist growth, but also shows Vietnam's open-mindedness for deep integration. A report by the World Tourism Organization shows that visa exemption can help increase the number of international visitors by 5 to 25%. Most countries are applying flexible visa policies or visa exemptions to attract tourists and Vietnam cannot be out of the trend.

Mr. Vu Van Tuyen, Director of Travelogy Vietnam Tourism Company, said that in the context of increasingly fierce competition for destinations in Southeast Asia - where countries such as Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia have taken the lead in visa policies, Vietnam's relaxation of entry procedures is a positive signal to enhance the competitive advantage of the tourism industry.

Engage visitors with immersive experiences

According to data from the General Statistics Office, in the first 7 months of 2025, Vietnam welcomed a record number of international visitors with more than 12.2 million, an increase of nearly 23% compared to the same period in 2024 and an increase of 25% compared to 2019 - the time before the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, experts expect that the impact of the new visa policy will help Vietnam easily achieve the target of welcoming 22 to 23 million international visitors this year, and possibly reach 25 to 30 million visitors next year if the situation develops positively.

However, it must be affirmed that visa exemption is only the initial opening action to attract tourists. If you want visitors to stay longer and spend more, the decisive factor is still to build a synchronous ecosystem with quality services, unique products, professional human resources, and synchronous infrastructure.

Director of the Asian Tourism Development Institute Pham Hai Quynh said that with beautiful natural resources, rich culture, friendly people, and especially stable politics and security, Vietnam possesses many advantages to attract high-quality tourists. To take advantage of the strength of the visa policy expansion, it is important to strengthen international communication campaigns, especially with markets and beneficiaries.

It is necessary to invest more in tourism infrastructure, improve service quality to meet the high demands of luxury tourists; create cooperative relationships with international travel companies, organize events and seminars to introduce Vietnam and unique tourism experiences. In addition, it is necessary to promote training of tourism human resources to improve service and management skills, meeting the high demands of tourists. Equally urgent is to focus on developing new tourism products, such as community tourism associated with indigenous culture and livelihoods, ecotourism, cultural tourism and adventure tourism, etc., to diversify choices for tourists.

Mr. Vu Van Tuyen analyzed that European and luxury tourists, celebrities often seek unique experiences and spiritual values more than simple trips. Therefore, international media needs to emphasize personal experience stories and spread them strongly on digital platforms.

European tourists often prefer long-term tours that combine relaxation and exploration, while the super-rich and celebrities require exclusive and private products. Therefore, Vietnam's visa exemption for temporary stays of up to 45 days creates favorable conditions for travel companies to build personalized, in-depth itineraries.

These could be tours to explore the nature of the Northeast and Northwest, to learn about the beauty of UNESCO-listed heritages...; or high-end tours for super-rich guests, with private yachts on Ha Long Bay, luxury villas in Phu Quoc, international golf courses...; or tours to experience local culture... On that basis, positioning Vietnam as a destination for authentic and unique experiences.

This is the way to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese tourism, helping to attract high-end tourists - those who always want to go to places where they cannot find similar experiences anywhere else. The resonance of favorable policies, quality services, and impressive products will not only attract tourists to come once, but also make them come back many times, becoming "voluntary tourism ambassadors" of Vietnam.