On Saturday, 200 vaccinated Western tourists landed on Vietnam’s beach-fringed island of Phu Quoc, the first wave of visitors in over two years as the country tries to revitalize its pandemic-ravaged tourism economy.
Vietnam implemented strict border restrictions at the outset of the pandemic in an attempt to keep out COVID-19, but this hurt the country’s booming tourist sector, which accounts for roughly 10% of GDP.
According to the authorities, vaccinated visitors do not have to endure the statutory two-week quarantine, but are forced to spend their vacation exclusively inside the mega complex resort Vinpearl and will be examined twice throughout their stay.
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Nguyen Trung Khanh, chairman of the country’s tourism administration said in a statement: ‘This is the first and vital step to revive our tourism sector and to prepare for full resumption by next year’.
By the end of the year, the island administration expects 400,000 local and foreign visitors. Other Vietnamese tourism spots, such as Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Danang Beach also welcome international visitors.
The action is identical to what neighbouring Thailand did earlier this month when it hosted vaccinated Western tourists for a quarantine-free vacation.
Foreign visitors to Vietnam fell from 18 million in 2019, when tourist income reached $31 billion, accounting for over 12% of the country’s GDP, to 3.8 million last year.
Vietnam, which has vaccinated over half of its 98 million people, plans to resume international commercial flights in January next year, with complete tourism reopening planned from June.
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