Vietnam to allow vaccinated visitors from December

Authorities will allow vaccinated foreign visitors to enter Vietnam from December.

Vietnam.- The government of Vietnam will allow vaccinated tourists to visit the country from December in order to help the tourism and gaming sectors. 

According to Reuters, in 2020 the tally of foreign visitors to Vietnam was down 79 per cent from 18 million to 3.8 million when compared to pre-pandemic levels. Revenue was US$31bn. The majority of Vietnam casinos only allow foreigners to gamble. As a result, revenues have been deeply affected by Covid-19 countermeasures.

The southern island of Phu Quoc hosts one of the only two casinos that permit Vietnamese citizens to gamble, the Corona Resort & Casino. The other is located in Van Don, in the northern province of Quang Ninh. 

In March, casino operators asked the government to expand Vietnamese citizens’ access to casinos in major tourist destinations such as Quang Nam and Ba Ria-Vung Tau to help casinos face the loss of revenue from tourists owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the government has said the current scheme won’t be expanded.

The Ministry of Transport announced that domestic flights were to resume this month for places that had relaxed Covid-19 countermeasures.