While Vietnamese officials are making an effort to boost the number of visitors to the country, it may not be enough to pull Vietnam out of its tourism slump.
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On July 1, Vietnam waived the visa requirement for travelers from Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK.
Three months down the line, the scheme has shown a slight boost in tourism numbers but not enough to alleviate Vietnam's tourism woes, reports Thanh Nien. From January to August of 2015, the country posted a 7.5% drop in tourism arrivals compared to the same period last year.
Most travelers still need visas to visit the country, travel agencies say, as European travelers and other visitors from faraway nations often plan to stay more than the maximum 15 days granted under the visa exemption.
Add to this the 30-day rule, which requires visitors to exit the country for at least a month before returning visa-free, and the current waiver regulations aren't yet doing enough to lift Vietnam's tourism numbers.
Some caution that the effects of the new waiver will take time to kick in, another Thanh Nien article reports, however others suggest that with foreign visitors planning their travels so far in advance, the visa waiver needs to be extended in order to provide a real benefit to the country's tourism industry.
