Mr. Doan Van Viet, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism speaking at the event (Photo: Vietnam Tourism Promoting Office in Korea)

Attending the Roadshow were Mr. Doan Van Viet, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST); Mr. Nguyen Le Phuc, Vice Chairman of VNAT; Mr. Nguyen Viet Anh, Minister Counselor, Vietnamese Embassy in Korea; Mr. Lee Chang Kun, Vietnam tourism ambassador in Korea; Representative of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea; partners, tourism, travel and hotel businesses of Vietnam and Korea.

Speaking at the event, MOCST’s Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet stressed, in recent years, the partnership and people-to-people exchange between Vietnam and Korea have always been promoted by all levels and sectors, achieving numerous good achievements. The comprehensive strategic partnership upgraded at the end of 2022, which marked an important turning point, bringing the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Korea to a new page, with stronger developments. In particular, in December 2022, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Now known as Vietnam National Authority of Tourism) and the Korean National Tourism Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in promoting Vietnam - Korea tourism in the period 2023 - 2024, creating a basis for the two sides to promote tourism cooperation and visitor exchange, especially at a time when tourism needs to be quickly and effectively restored post the pandemic.

The Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism added, after fully restoring tourism activities from 15th March 2022, Vietnam has organised many outstanding tourism promotion and exchange activities in Korea such as: Vietnam Cultural Tourism Festival, Vietnam Tourism Roadshow; Attending the World Tourism Industry Conference within the framework of the TITF Travel Fair (formerly known as the KOTFA Fair). Along with that, Vietnam always supports, responds and welcomes Korean tourism promotion activities, cultural - tourism - culinary festivals organised by the Korean national tourism agency and localities of Korea in Vietnam.

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet is glad to inform that from 15th August 2023, Vietnam applies electronic visas to citizens of all countries and territories, allowing foreigners to enter and exit with electronic visas at 42 international border gates (by air, road and sea), increasing the validity of electronic visas from 30 days to 90 days; Adjusting to increase the temporary stay duration from 15 days to 45 days for citizens of 13 countries unilaterally exempted from visas, including South Korea.

As a result, in the first 9 months of 2023, Vietnam welcomed about 8.9 million international visitor arrivals, of which Korea is the largest source market with nearly 2.6 million arrivals. In 2023, Vietnam tourism received several award categories in Asia at the World Travel Asia and Oceania Ceremony.

Vietnam Tourism Roadshow takes place in the framework of the Vietnam Cultural Tourism Promotion Festival, held annually in Korea, demonstrating the strong cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of tourism and culture. This is not only an opportunity for Vietnam to introduce to Korean friends its traditional cultural identity, but also to promote attractive destinations and tourism products specifically for Korean tourists. At the same time, the Roadshow creates opportunities for Vietnamese and Korean investors and tourism businesses to meet, seek cooperation and business opportunities, and increase two-way tourist exchange in the context of the two countries strengthening bilateral economic and cultural cooperation.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Anh, Minister Counselor, Vietnamese Embassy in Korea (Photo: Vietnam Tourism Promoting Office in Korea)

Mr. Nguyen Viet Anh, Minister Counselor, Vietnamese Embassy in Korea indicated that Vietnam and Korea are both countries with rich tourism potential. Both countries possess unique cultures and tangible and intangible heritage sites recognized by UNESCO such as: Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, Hue Imperial Citadel, Ha Long Bay in Vietnam; Changdeokgung Palace, Hwaseong Fortress in Korea.

Over time, tourism has become a foundation that contributes to strengthening good understanding between Vietnam and Korea as well as creating opportunities for trade, investment, and educational exchange between the two countries. At the same time, the development of culture and tourism plays an important role in promoting socio-economic development, creating livelihoods for people as well as promoting exchanges between Vietnam and the world, including Korea, especially in the post-Covid-19 period. Vietnam has spent a lot of effort and achieved positive results in improving and upgrading tourism services in both quality and quantity to meet the increasing demands of international and domestic tourists.

Mr. Lee Chang Kun, Vietnam tourism ambassador in Korea (Photo: Vietnam Tourism Promoting Office in Korea)

Vietnam tourism ambassador in Korea Lee Chang Kun said, post the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam tourism has recovered strongly and Korean tourists are increasing significantly. Flights connecting Vietnam - Korea are also restored and only take about 4 - 5 hours to fly between the two countries. With a coastline of up to 3,260km, Vietnam possesses beautiful beaches and world-class beach resorts in Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc… Attractive landscapes include Ha Long Bay, one of the 7 new natural wonders of the world, and the world's largest cave, Son Doong Cave, in Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park… In particular, Vietnam possesses a rich and diverse culture imbued with the identities of 54 ethnic groups across the country and many cities with unique historical and cultural values. With attractive tourism resources, Vietnam is a themed destination that suits the tastes of Korean visitors. On the other hand, Korea is also a destination and a country that Vietnamese people are most interested in travelling to.

At the Roadshow, the representative of VNAT gave an introduction about the situation of Vietnam tourism, the number of international visitor arrivals, including Korean visitors to Vietnam, in recent times, and Vietnam's open-door policy as well as new visa and immigration policies. Delegates also heard about the highlights of Vietnam's tourism marketing strategy with key product lines such as sea and island tourism, eco-tourism, cultural tourism, and city tourism; along with other types of complementary products such as golf tourism, wellness tourism, adventure tourism…

In addition, Vietnamese travel and hotel businesses have also introduced products, new travel services, suitable to the tastes and demands of the Korean market and attractive incentive and promotional programmes.

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