Vietnamese tourism authorities have asked their counterparts in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar to develop a travel programme with a joint visa for Chinese nationals to attract more tourists from that country.

The scheme is expected to help Viet Nam attract 2-2.5 million Chinese tourists in 2015 against 1.4 million last year.

The tourism authorities also plan to create new products and shopping tours, and co-operate with airlines to offer fare discounts to tourists.

Co-operation with major Chinese travel agencies will be a key element of the programme.-VNS