Many foreigners make Vietnam winter vacation plans

Peter Zimmermann from Germany said he and his wife plan to fly to Vietnam early December because they want to escape the cold winter in Europe.

"We would like to stay there for three months. In case there are still just 30-day e-visas, we will go on to Malaysia where we can stay visa-free for three months."

Vietnam has not resumed its multiple-entry three-month tourist visa that was available before the Covid pandemic.

Peter said that if their stay is limited to 30 days, his family would first visit their friends in the central beach town of Nha Trang and rent a good apartment there.

"Over Christmas we want to invite our best friends over there for a resort stay in Cam Ranh, not far from Nha Trang."

"If there are longer term visas, we want to travel to Da Nang, Vinh, Ha Tinh and Hanoi again. From there we would move to Ha Long Bay for a cruise."

Peter Zimmermann (R) and his wife in Nha Trang, May 2022. Photo courtesy of Peter Zimmermann

Zimmermann is among many foreign tourists who have made plans to spend their winter vacation in Vietnam.

American Justin Douglas said he would visit Ho Chi Minh City this December and stay there for one month before flying to Thailand's Phuket.

In addition to joining the Techcombank Marathon, Douglas wants to visit several HCMC attractions like the Museum of Fine Arts and the History Museum.

"I have some friends living there and plan to see them as well. After the marathon, I might book a weekend trip to Vung Tau as I've never been there before," Douglas of the beach town bordering HCMC.

On a Facebook group called Vietnam Travelers, many foreign tourists have asked for information about the weather in Vietnam in November and December because they plan to take their family there for a winter vacation.

Many tour operators specializing in serving inbound tourists say they are seeing positive signs from the inbound tourism market for the peak year-end travel season.

Hoang Thuy Linh, deputy director of marketing and communications at HCMC tour operator Saigontourist, said her company will bring several groups of foreign tourists from the U.S., Europe and Australia to Vietnam from November until February next year.

"These Western tourists will come to Vietnam by air and spend several days exploring tourist attractions from the north to south," she said.

Pham Ha, CEO of Lux Group, which specializes in organizing luxury cruise tours, said the number of foreign tourists booking the company's tours in the last three months has doubled against the first nine months of this year.

He hoped the figure would reach 80% by the end of this year as the international tourism market recovers.

So far this year, Vietnam has received only 1.87 million foreign visitors, or 30 percent of the annual target of five million.