The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and Vietnam Airlines on Sunday began a five-day fact-finding trip to Japan to explore ways to lure Japanese tourists back after the natural disasters in March, an official said.
Hoang Thi Diep, deputy head of VNAT, told the Daily that representatives would meet Japanese travel firms and tourism officials for talks after a huge decrease in the number of tourists from Japan visiting Vietnam.
“We saw a huge decline in the aftermath of the natural disasters of the number of Japanese visitors to the country, that’s why we need to explore new ways to recover that market,†she said.
Japan is the third largest market for tourism in the country. The nation has received more than 235,000 Japanese visitors in the first half of this year, up 11.7% year-on-year.
APEX Travel Co., who represents a number of companies serving Japanese tourists, has requested VNAT ask the Vietnamese authorities to allow Japanese tourists to stay for up to 30 or 60 days without an entry visa, instead of the current 15 days.
Nguyen Van Tran, general director of APEX, said that the company is still waiting for a response. “Our tour prices have been down by 3% to 5% in recent times.†He said things seem to be picking up.