Vaccine passport - The key to reopen the door for Vietnamese tourism industry

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The Vietnamese government is temporarily recognising COVID-19 vaccination certificate/passport of 72 countries and territories. At the ministry’s regular press conference held virtually on November 4, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced criteria for the recognition of foreign coronavirus immunization certificates. 

For COVID-19 vaccines, Vietnam currently accepts COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), or those approved by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health for emergency use. 

In terms of form, the COVID-19 vaccine passport form must be issued simultaneously in paper and electronic forms that carry an authentication code. Countries and territories issuing such passports must have a high COVID-19 safety level and a widespread vaccination rate. The list of these countries is regularly updated on the foreign ministry’s portal for consular work. With such vaccine passports, foreigners entering Vietnam will be permitted to have their time at concentrated quarantine sites cut from 14 to seven days.

Meanwhile, Vietnam also plans to resume international flights to 15 countries and territories in four phases.  The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) will restart international flights, including combo flights for Vietnamese citizens in routes connecting Vietnam with Japan, Korea, Taiwan (China), Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, France, Germany, Russia, and Australia in the first phase (Quarter IV 2021) and 5 more countries including China, Hong Kong, UK, Laos, Cambodia in the second phase. Thus, international visitors can travel to some tourist destinations such as Phu Quoc, Khanh Hoa, Quang Ninh, Da Nang, Quang Nam …
Tourists are foreigners, Vietnamese residing abroad coming from key and potential tourism markets of Vietnam, who meet the following conditions:

(1) Having a certificate of full vaccination against COVID-19 recognized by a competent authority in Vietnam (not applicable to children under 12 years of age accompanied by parents or guardians). The duration of injection of the 2nd or 1st dose (for the 1 dose vaccine) is valid for 14 days and not more than 12 months from the time of departure. Or have a certificate of recovery from COVID-19 or equivalent documents certifying that they have recovered from the disease, issued by a competent authority in the country of treatment and recognized by Vietnam. The time from the time of discharge from the hospital to the time of departure must not exceed 6 months.

(2) Having negative results for SARS-CoV-2 test by RT-PCR/RT-LAMP method within 72 hours before departure and certified by the competent authority of the country conducting the test (from the time of sampling).

(3) Having medical or travel insurance that covers treatment for COVID-19 with a minimum liability of $50,000.

(4) Participating in a package tour program of a travel agency.

Along with the government's efforts and the presence of vaccine passports, Vietnam tourism is making constant efforts to reopen as soon as possible. The tourist provinces such as Phu Quoc, Quang Ninh, Hue, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa are actively preparing infrastructure, human resources and solutions to prevent and control the pandemic to ensure safety and welcome tourists. 

Source: Ministry of Health, Vietnamtourism, Báo VnExpress, Báo Vietnamnet, Báo Tuổi trẻ