Vietnam visa fee for cruises drops to USD5

HANOI  International cruise passengers gain a huge incentive to sightsee in Vietnam after the country cut the shore leave visa from a staggering USD45 to just USD5.
The move was approved, last week, by the Prime Minister as plans unfold to raise the country’s profile as a cruise destination.
Fresh immigration regulations, came into effect 1 January, to streamline the process and end time-consuming and costly immigration requirements for international tourists travelling to Vietnam by cruise ship.
In the past, travel firms found it almost impossible to sell shore sightseeing tours to cruise passengers. They usually stay on board for meals and accommodation at a port of call and buy optional sightseeing tours that are sold be a local agent.
inside no 1Travel firms that specialise in arranging local port visits and overland tours for passengers had expressed about the USD45 visa fee and the delays in filing and processing shore leave visas. In some cases cruise ships offered to take immigration officials on board for the duration of the Asian cruise to speed up the process when reaching a Vietnamese port.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told the Ministry of Public Security to work with relevant agencies to streamline visa procedures for passengers on board foreign cruise ships and ordered the Ministry of Finance to lower the fee.
Accordingly, immigration officers, they will issue a landing slip for visitors upon arrival at a fee of USD5 if they intended to go ashore for sightseeing.
Vietnam is a port of call for cruise ships sailing between Hong Kong and Singapore, the most popular cruise ship lane in Asia.
On average, the country welcomes around 200,000 cruise visitors a year. The downside of the cruise business is that it makes very little use of accommodation at a destination. However, it brings thousands of wealthy travellers who like to shop and that is appreciated by local shopkeepers.

sourced:ttrweekly.com