Hanoi – Vietnam plans to reopen major tourist destinations to vaccinated visitors from countries deemed to be at low risk of COVID-19 from December, the government said on Wednesday (October 6), before a full recovery scheduled for June of next year.
Vietnam imposed strict border controls at the start of the pandemic in an attempt to avoid COVID-19, with some initial success, but this has hurt its burgeoning tourism sector, which typically accounts for around 10%. of gross domestic product.
“We are only open when it is really safe,” the government said in a statement.
“We are moving step by step, cautiously but flexibly to adapt to the real situations of the pandemic. “
Foreign arrivals to Vietnam fell to 3.8 million last year, from 18 million in 2019, when tourism revenues stood at $ 31 billion, equivalent to 12% of GDP.
The country is trying to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations, with just 13% of its 98 million people vaccinated so far, one of the lowest rates in Asia.
