Foreign visitors from the pilot flight at the Đà Nẵng International Airport. VNA/VNS Photo

SEOUL – The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on Wednesday operated its first pilot flight carrying international tourists from Seoul, Republic of Korea, to the central coastal city of Đà Nẵng.

Aboard the flight were passengers from the RoK, the US, UK, Austria, Czech Republic and Australia, who travelled to Việt Nam for vacations or to visit relatives.

To board the flight, each passenger needed a vaccine passport, a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before departure, and a return ticket, among other requirements.   

Before boarding, Oh Young-roh, a RoK national, told the Vietnam News Agency that he was visiting Việt Nam to see his family.

He hoped the Vietnamese Government would consider reducing the current quarantine period of seven days for those having negative test results and being fully vaccinated for at least two weeks before their arrival.  

Tommy Addis from the US said that he was glad to be returning to Việt Nam and that he respects all regulations for pandemic prevention and control of the nation.

William Hale, also from the US, said Việt Nam has protected its citizens very well during the pandemic. With the vaccines and PCR tests, local people have been able to travel quite comfortably and international tourists have also started thinking about traveling to Việt Nam, he added.

Upon their arrival in Hoiana Complex Resort in Duy Xuyên District, all the visitors tested for COVID-19. After having test results showing negative for SARS-CoV-2, they will register travel programmes as schedule.

During their seven-day stay in Quảng Nam, the visitors will stay in Hoiana Complex Resort, visit Vinpearl Land South Hội An, Hội An Ancient Town, and Mỹ Sơn World Cultural Heritage Site.

Nguyễn Thanh Hồng, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said this is a positive signal for the local tourism sector, contributing to promoting Quảng Nam’s image as a safe destination for domestic and foreign visitors.

Holiday-makers coming to Quảng Nam are required to be given two full shots of vaccines against COVID-19, and strictly follow COVID-19 prevention regulations of the locality and the Ministry of Health.

According to Hồng, Quảng Nam is scheduled to welcome 100 foreign visitors on November 18, and 200 others on November 25 from the US, the RoK and Canada.

On November 11, two charter flights brought more than 400 South Korean and Japanese fully vaccinated passengers from Seoul and Tokyo to the southern resort city of Nha Trang.

Phú Quốc ready to welcome tourists

Phú Quốc island city in the southern province of Kiên Giang will also welcome the first international tourist group arriving in Việt Nam on November 20.

A total of 209 tourists from the Republic of Korea (RoK) will come to Phú Quốc on a Vietjet flight for a four day, three night package tour at the Phú Quốc United Center.

The tourists will board Flight VJ3749 from Incheon International Airport and land in Phu Quoc International Airport at 12pm on November 20.

The tour’s whole itinerary has been coordinated by Vinpearl’s strategic partner, Highland Marketing Tourism Company and Vietjet Air to bring the Korean tourists, who have “vaccine passports”, to the Phú Quốc United Center following the international arrival guidelines of Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Kiên Giang province.

The airline will continue to operate 24 trips to Khánh Hòa, Quảng Nam and Quảng Ninh that have been allowed to welcome international tourists on a pilot basis.

Nguyễn Minh Tâm, deputy head of the Marketing and Sales Department of Vietnam Airlines, said the airline has worked with a number of key markets to open 15 to 20 charter flights from now until the end of January. VNS