On Tuesday, Vietnam Tourism Ministry proposed the full reopening of the country to foreign tourists and lifting nearly all travel restrictions from March 15th, which is three months earlier than planned.
The proposal will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.
This follows other SE Asian countries such as Thailand and the Philippines, which have also seen a spike in Omicron covid cases; however, fewer hospitalizations than in previous outbreaks.
The proposal includes maintaining a one-day quarantine requirement for visitors plus requiring an RT-PCR report before arrival to the country.
Vietnam has seen over 2.5 million infections and has recorded 39,000 deaths so far.
The country had imposed the strictest border control two years ago when covid infections had spread across the globe.
The country initially had kept the virus out, which was successful. But the policy introduced then had seen a blow in its tourism sector.
Foreign arrivals fell to nearly 157,000 last year compared to 18 million in 2019.
Originally planned to reopen for tourism in June 2022, Vietnam has pushed back it’s reopening for foreign travellers.
Since November, Vietnam has allowed foreign tourists to visit specific places under the vaccine passport program.
