HCMC – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked some relevant ministries and agencies to weigh a proposal to allow the introduction of Covid-19 travel insurance to prepare for the resumption of the international tourism segment.
Earlier, Vo Anh Tai, deputy general director of Saigontourist Group, said that international flights might resume after the Lunar New Year holiday and it was important to make predictions about the markets, resume visa-waiver programs as well as other policies to ensure benefits for foreign tourists and develop cooperation policies.
Of these, policies to ensure benefits for visitors should be considered at the earliest. All international tourists to Vietnam and Vietnamese tourists travelling abroad should be covered under Covid-19 travel insurance.
Therefore, the Government leader asked the Ministry of Transport to coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and other relevant ministries and agencies to work on the proposal.
To prevent and control Covid-19, Vietnam has suspended the international tourism segment since March last year.
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, as of December last year, the pandemic had sent the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam down nearly 80% to 3.7 million. Most of them came to the country in the first quarter of 2021. In addition, the number of domestic visitors fell 34.1% to 56 million.
The country’s tourism revenue plummeted 58.7% to some VND312.2 trillion. This year, the tourism sector will focus on the local market and prepare for the resumption of international travels.
By Khanh Nghi
