Welcoming: Foreign visitors at Đà Nẵng International Airport. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has asked the Government to increase the visa waiver period for tourists from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain from the current one year to five years and double their period of stay to 30 days to attract more visitors.

In the 10 months since visas were waived the number of tourists from these countries shot up by 14 per cent to 555,000 against an annual 5.35 per cent growth in 2010-14. The additional spending by these visitors is estimated at around US$171 million.

The ministry has also asked the Government to consider waiving visas for people from 13 more nations, all key tourism markets for Việt Nam, and issue visas online and at border entry points to make it easier for visitors to Việt Nam. — VNS