PM calls for American investors to boost tourism cooperation with Vietnam

"Vietnam has brought the pandemic under control and resumed tourism and aviation activities. The first group of foreign travelers returning to Vietnam after the country reopened its borders from March 15 was from the U.S.," Chinh told a conference on trade, investment and tourism promotion between Vietnam and the U.S. in San Francisco on May 17.

Before the pandemic, the U.S. was among the 10 largest source markets of Vietnam's tourism.

In 2019, there were over 746,000 American tourists visiting Vietnam and the average growth rate during the 2014-2019 period was 11 percent.

A Vietnam Airlines spokesman told the conference the national flag carrier now operates four weekly flights between San Francisco and Ho Chi Minh City, using Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 craft and it plans to operate daily flights between both cities from next year.

A representative of hospitality group Thien Minh said the company is ready to operate luxury tours to the U.S. for Vietnamese travelers from this summer.

On March 15 Vietnam scrapped quarantine requirements for foreign visitors.

The country then ditched medical declaration and pre-departure Covid test procedures for foreign entrants.