Recently, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed a lift on visa restrictions for nine countries in order to boost the Vietnam’s tourism.

Until now, Vietnam have granted visa exemption to citizens of 16 countries for varying time periods. According to a recent global survey on the visa exemption policy of countries conducted by the residence and citizenship planning advisers Henley & Partners, Vietnam was ranked 81st out of the 219 countries surveyed.

Many travelers consider visa fee as another way to collect money. And according to many people in the tourism industry, high fees to obtain a visa may prompt potential visitors to cancel their trip or choose other destinations. The head of International Air Transport Association, Tony Tyler, said that the visa restriction is costing Vietnam many potential visitors. Joe Mannix, general manager of United Airlines, complained that US citizens have to pay fees between USD40 and USD50, while citizens from other countries are exempt.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, director of a travel company in Vietnam, recommended that Vietnam simplify the visa procedures and add new countries to the exemption list. He went on to say that the number of visitors from Japan increased significantly since Vietnam lifted the visa requirements for citizens of that country. He added that there are many ways to improve procedures, such granting visa exemptions for tourists who have visited Vietnam before or allowing travel agencies to apply for visas on behalf of their clients.

The Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are seeking permission to expand visa exemptions to nine more countries which are France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, India and Canada. Representatives of the two ministries explained that visitors from these nine countries have considerable budgets and can stay for long periods of time.

According to statistics released by the Vietnam Administration of Tourism, in the first eight months of 2014, the number of international tourists increased by 12% compared to last year, and 42% of them were visa-exempted.