South Korea is a popular destination among travellers after COVID-19 pandemic. –Photo nld.com.vn

HCM CITY – As Japan and South Korea further ease COVID-19 border entry regulations for foreigners, local businesses are confident in the growth of tourism.

According to the Japan Tourism Promotion Agency (JNTO), Japan has been ready to welcome international visitors since last week.

On October 11, the first tour to Japan, operated by BenThanh Tourist, departed from HCM City to Tokyo after two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, South Korea has officially announced the removal of a COVID-19 post-entry PCR test from the beginning of October.

With this new policy, visitors to South Korea only need to fill in their personal information on the Q-code website and later receive the Q-code for immigration procedures.

Nguyễn Minh Mẫn, director of Communications and Marketing Department of TSTtourist Company, said that recent tours to South Korea, with increasingly favourable entry policies, have received positive feedback from tourists.

Demand stimulation

Nguyễn Nguyệt Vân Khanh, director of Marketing Department of Vietravel Tourism Company, said that as soon as official announcements were rolled out, the company immediately worked with the General Department of Tourism and airlines to offer the most affordable tours to the two key markets of Japan and Taiwan Island.

“At the moment, tours to Japan are priced from VNĐ24 million (US$992.9) per person and those to Taiwan from VNĐ11 million per person. Vietnamese tourists who are uncertain of visa procedures to South Korea will be taken care of by the company’s consultants,” Khanh added.

At Saigontourist Travel Service Company, tour routes to South Korea, Japan and Chinese Taiwan have been carefully prepared, with seats being sold until the end of December.

The company has also collaborated with service providers in localities and different airlines to build a specific departure schedule for the Lunar New Year, said Đoàn Thị Thanh Trà, director of the Marketing and Communication Department of Saigontourist.

Fiditour Travel Company - Vietluxtour is also preparing for the re-opening of foreign tour markets, especially the Northeast Asian market.

Trần Thị Bảo Thu, Communications director of Fiditour Travel - Vietluxtour, said that the company has re-opened tours departing in November to Japan and South Korea and is ready to open tours to Taiwan Island as soon as possible.

Control of the COVID-19 pandemic, together with loosened visa policies and regulations for international visitors will greatly contribute to the recovery of foreign tourism.

It is crucial for travel companies to create attractive promotions with better pricing policies considering that Northeast Asian tourism will recover quickly and tourism demand will spike up especially at the beginning of 2023 with cherry blossom season, Thu said. – VNS