Vietnam to expand unilateral visa waivers to attract high-quality tourists

This is among a package of coordinated and breakthrough measures to promote sustainable tourism development, as announced by Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh on Jan. 20 following the recent meeting of the State Steering Committee for Tourism.

According to the announcement, Vietnam's tourism sector recorded strong and positive results in 2025, achieving impressive growth and reaffirming its role as a bright spot in the national economy. These achievements have been recognized by the World Tourism Organization, which ranked Vietnam among the world's fastest-growing tourism destinations.

The year 2026 is of particular significance, marked by the 14th National Party Congress, elections for deputies to the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for a new term, and the first year of implementation of the 2026-2030 five-year socio-economic development plan.

Against a backdrop of continued global volatility, heightened risks and a slow economic recovery, and in order to meet Vietnam's targets of welcoming 25 million international visitors and 150 million domestic travelers, ministries, sectors and localities are required to decisively address bottlenecks, shortcomings and constraints hindering tourism development.

The Deputy Prime Minister called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to take the lead, in coordination with relevant ministries, agencies and local authorities, in effectively implementing Resolution No 08 dated Jan. 16, 2017, which aims to develop tourism into a spearhead economic sector.

Priority should be given to restructuring source markets and improving the quality and competitiveness of Vietnam's tourism industry.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been tasked with conducting a comprehensive review of the 2017 Law on Tourism and related legal documents, proposing amendments, supplements or the removal of outdated provisions in order to create a more enabling legal framework for tourism development.

The ministry is also required to closely monitor travel trends and visitor demand to formulate appropriate tourism product development strategies, with a focus on high-end, high-value-added segments such as green tourism, wellness tourism, MICE tourism and golf tourism. Particular attention should be paid to attracting international markets with high spending power and longer stays.

In addition, the ministry should advise on adjustments and updates to the Tourism System Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2045, ensuring alignment with urban and rural planning as well as administrative unit restructuring, thereby opening up new development space for the tourism sector.

Chinh assigned the Ministry of Public Security to further accelerate the application of information technology and digital transformation to improve electronic visa issuance procedures, simplify processes and shorten immigration clearance times at border checkpoints, creating maximum convenience for travelers.

Notably, the ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to study and propose an expansion of unilateral visa exemptions for key and high-potential markets.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was instructed to intensify information dissemination and outreach on Vietnam's visa policies to international partners, while reviewing and proposing amendments to relevant legal documents to facilitate tourism promotion and marketing activities overseas.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will integrate the promotion of Vietnam's tourism brand and image into trade promotion programs, international fairs and exhibitions, and leverage the bridging role of Vietnam's overseas trade offices to strengthen synergies between trade promotion and tourism promotion.

The Ministry of Construction will continue to prioritize investment resources for the development of strategic infrastructure, including transport infrastructure such as airports, seaports, expressways and direct connections to national tourism sites and destinations, ensuring modernization and seamless connectivity for travelers.

Other ministries and agencies, within their assigned functions and responsibilities, were urged to proactively coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in implementing practical solutions to accelerate tourism development in an effective and sustainable manner.

Vietnam welcomed 21.2 million foreign tourists in 2025, up 20.4% from the previous year and the highest ever, according to the General Statistics Office.

The tourism industry has set a target of welcoming 25 million foreign tourists next year, a 16% increase compared to last year's figure.