Vietnam, Belarus eye post-pandemic strong tourism link

Representatives from Belarus’s Embassy in Hanoi and Ministry of Sports and Tourism, and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) have gathered in a webinar to discuss potential cooperation in tourism between the two countries.

Representatives from Belarus’s Embassy in Hanoi and Ministry of Sports and Tourism, and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) gather in a webinar to discuss potential cooperation in tourism between the two countries

Vietnam and Belarus have been seeing growing cooperation in tourism over recent years, VNAT Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu told the webinar which was held on August 17.

Vietnam has become an increasingly popular destination among Belarusians for offering a wide variety of tours, especially beach and golf holidays as well as cultural and shopping tours, Sieu said.

Belarus has been a favourite destination of many Vietnamese, not only because of the country's rich culture and history, but also the strong connection of Vietnamese alumni in Belarus, according to Sieu.

He further noted the fact that travel has become easier for travellers between the two nations as the Government of Vietnam has granted unilateral visa-free entry for Belarusian citizens for stays of no more than 15 days since July, 2015. The policy has been extended to the end of 2022.

Thanks to the move, the number of Belarusian tourist arrivals in Vietnam was on a rise, from 10,500 in 2017 to 12,665 in 2019.

However, the figure has failed to match great potential Vietnam and Belarus are holding for developing ties in tourism, the official emphasized.

He urged the two sides to boost tourism promotion, enhance information exchange and increase exchanges of tourism authorities, travel firms and news outlets to strengthen understanding of each other’s market. Both sides should also facilitate the participation of each other's businesses in international travel expos and promotion events after the COVID-19 is put under control.

The two sides discussed and agreed to ink an agreement in tourism cooperation in the coming time./.

VNA