Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) is honored the “Asia’s Leading Tourist Board 2023”

This award is a great pay-off for good efforts VNAT made in order to restore the tourism industry post the Covid-19 pandemic during the period of 2021-2023 and turn Vietnam tourism into a bright spot in the region, affirming the position of the national tourism brand on the world tourism map.

In 2021, in the context that the tourism industry was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, VNAT implemented safety, flexible solutions, ensuring safety for tourists and workers in the industry, and proactively working on activities to stimulate domestic tourism demand during times when the pandemic was under control. VNAT also proactively proposed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Government and the Prime Minister on piloting the welcoming international tourists from the end of 2021, creating momentum for a complete reopening post the pandemic.

In 2022, VNAT proactively proposed all levels on the complete resuming of Vietnam tourism. On 15th March 2022, with the open policy, a new path for the recovery of the entire industry was widely appeared. 2022 marked the efforts of VNAT and the entire industry to strongly implement activities to reconnect the markets and promote tourism. As a result, the number of domestic tourists reached a record number of over 100 million arrivals, higher than in 2019 before the pandemic outbreak; International tourism gradually recovered.

VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh with leaders of VNAT and Mr. Graham Cooke - Founder and President of World Travel Awards (Photo: TITC)

At the beginning of 2023, VNAT has actively proposed all levels to promulgate many policies to remove difficulties for localities and tourism businesses, promote tourism recovery and development, and create favourable conditions for international visitors to Vietnam. Especially Government issued Resolution No. 82/NQ-CP on main tasks and solutions to recover and accelerate effective and sustainable tourism development. The resolution is particularly important with breakthrough solutions for tourism development in the new era. Resolutions of the National Assembly and the Government on new visa and immigration policies come to effect from 15th August 2023, thereby to increase the temporary stay durationto 45 days for citizens of 13 countries with unilateral visa exemption; issue electronic visas to citizens of all countries and territories, increase the temporary stay duration up to 90 days and take effect for multiple entry and exit. These are particularly important policies, which are expected to create a great impetus to promote the growth of the international tourism market to Vietnam.

Besides, VNAT proposed the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to approve the issuance of the Vietnam Tourism Marketing Strategy until 2030, Project on a number of models for developing night tourism products... to complete mission requirements and tourism development trends in the new era.

VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh and Mr. Graham Cooke - Founder and President of World Travel Awards (Photo: TITC)

In state management, VNAT always accompanies, supports localities and businesses to implement a number of programmes for tourism recovery and development, tourism promotion events, inter-regional cooperation programmes, tourism stimulation, new product development, service quality assurance serving tourists…

In international markets, VNAT participated in the ITB Berlin 2023 with the largest scale ever, affirming Vietnam's determination to integrate with the recovery of global tourism. In the country, the national tourism agency has accompanied localities, associations and businesses to organise the Visit Vietnam Year 2023, Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) Ha Noi; International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City - ITE HCMC.

Regarding the results of welcoming tourists to Vietnam, in 8 months of 2023, the total number of international visitors reached over 7.8 million arrivals, reaching 98% of the plan in 2023; served 86 million domestic visitor arrivals; total tourist receipts reached VND482 trillion. This promises that Vietnam's tourism industry has many opportunities to grow stronger in the last months of 2023.

Tourism Information Technology Center