The signing was witnessed by Minister of State in charge of foreign trade, the promotion of tourism and French nationals abroad, Matthias Fekl and Vietnamese ambassador to France Nguyen Ngoc Son.

Matthias Fekl praised efforts of the French Embassy in Ha Noi in realising the partnership, which was expected to help double the number of tourists from Viet Nam to France within two years, saying that the agreements are milestones in promoting the country’s tourism and attracting further visitors to France.

The agreements, a result of France’s efforts to attract Vietnamese tourists, will help simplify the process of issuing visas and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese tourists to visit France, as well as address the increase of visa applications for entry into the European country.

Pham Duy Nghia, Director of Vietfoot Travel expressed his hope that the facilitated procedures would help increase the number of customers and satisfy increasing demand.

According to the French Embassy in Ha Noi, the agreements will allow prioritised appointments for groups of applicants, simplify required documents and shorten procedures for visitors who have previously entered Europe and several other countries.

The decision was made to address the sharp increase of tourists from Viet Nam to France. 24,269 visas were issued in 2014, a 28.7% year-on-year rise, including nearly 11,000 travel visas, a 62% year-on-year increase.

The six local tour operators signing the partnership agreements with the French Embassy in Ha Noi include Ha Noi Red Tour, Naci Travel, Ha Noi Iso Tours, Ha Noi Tourist, South Pacific Travel and Vietfoot Travel.

There have been no alterations to visa issuing procedures for other cases.