At a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on the morning of February 15, leaders of ministries and branches discussed reopening tourism activities under the “new normal” from March 15, in a spirit of “flexible and safe adaptation, and effective control of Covid-19”.

Measures to control travel introduced when the pandemic broke out in 2020 will be lifted and strict pandemic prevention and control solutions implemented at the direction of the Prime Minister.

Regarding visas, ministries and agencies will seek permission from the government to end restrictive measures on issuance and apply pre-pandemic procedures from March 15.

According to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung, to prepare for a reopening of tourism, management agencies and also tourism businesses must complete a huge amount of work.

Deputy Prime Minister Dam emphasized that, after more than two years of the pandemic, the tourism industry in particular and the economy in general faces many difficulties. “Each ministry and sector must be responsible in effectively implementing solutions to reopen tourism activities in a spirit of flexible and safe adaptation, and effective control of Covid-19,” he said.

Vietnam’s aviation sector began to reopen all regular international routes from February 15. On January 1, nine international routes were reopened, to Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, San Francisco or Los Angeles, and Beijing or Guangzhou. These are key markets, with many Vietnamese workers, and also important economic and trade partners.