Viet Nam News (the English daily newspaper) was reporting (access here) that Vietnam is easing visa requirements for five new countries on July 1, 2015.
The tourism sector had been hoping to include all the Schengen countries + Australia, USA and Canada, but this got first watered down to nine and eventually only five got approved.
The new countries whose nationals no longer need Visa from July 1st for travel to Vietnam are:
- United Kingdom
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Spain
Conclusion
Countries in Asia are easing visa requirements in hope of attracting more tourists. Many don’t want to spend the time and cash arranging visas prior to the trip (hassle factor).
China has extended the time and cities where people in transit can now spend up to 72 hours without having to get a visa (taking advantage of this again next week) and Indonesia is getting rid off the visa-on-arrival hassle from nationals of 30 more countries.
Vietnam is now making it easier for more tourists to access the country without going through the visa applying process hoping to attract people that would otherwise go to nearby countries such as Thailand.
