The conference was held in both online and in-person formats.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet said that Vietnam's tourism industry is facing strong development opportunities in promoting the attraction of international tourists to Vietnam.
Specifically, the law on amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens and of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of foreigners in Vietnam took effect from August 15. Accordingly, the duration of an electronic visa is extended from 30 to 90 days.
Citizens of the countries that are unilaterally exempted from visas by Vietnam will be granted temporary residence for up to 45 days from 15 days and can be considered for visa issuance and temporary residence extension according to regulations.
Vietnam welcomed 6.6 million foreign visitors in the first seven months of this year. Domestic tourists were estimated at 76.5 million in the review period. The country earned 416.6 trillion VND from the tourism industry.
The conference aims to enhance the role and responsibility of the sector in effectively implementing tasks and solutions, creating a high consensus in awareness and action of the tourism industry as well as relevant industries, localities, businesses, and people, Viet said.
The conference also received many comments and suggestions from localities that are key tourism destinations across the country, presenting action plans, difficulties and challenges encountered as well as making suggestions and recommendations to put the new policies into practice.
Between now and the end of the year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will submit to the Government a master plan on Vietnam's tourism development system for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2045, said Director General of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Trung Khanh.
At the same time, the ministry will also build a national database on tourism, and research and develop a project on establishing Vietnam tourism promotion offices abroad, with priority to key markets.
