Vietnam has reopened its borders to tourists after long-standing travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The Vietnam visa on arrival and e-Visa services are now operating once again, allowing eligible tourists to obtain the authorization they need to visit the country.

 

Although there are still some COVID-19 rules and regulations in place for international travel, it is now possible to visit Vietnam, whether for a holiday or for business purposes. There are no restrictions based on nationality or the country you are traveling from, meaning that travel from Nigeria to Vietnam is open.

 

Nigerians visiting Vietnam will actually find more health restrictions to deal with when they return home. Nigeria currently asks for passengers to take a test on arrival. Arrivals who have not been vaccinated up to Nigeria’s standards must also self-isolate for 7 days. Vietnam does not have either of these requirements.

 

At present, passengers heading for the Southeast Asian country must take a COVID-19 test before they travel.

 

This can either be an RT-PCR, RT-LAMP, NAAT, or antigen test. Rapid antigen tests must be taken within 24 hours before the first point of departure, while RT-PCR, RT-LAMP, and NAAT tests may be taken up to 72 hours before traveling.

 

The result must be negative for COVID-19. The passenger will need the negative test result to board a flight to Vietnam and to clear border control on arrival.

 

In addition to the test, travelers will need to complete a Health Declaration Form and download the “PC-Covid” app before they arrive in Vietnam.

 

If all these conditions are met, passengers are free to enter and stay in Vietnam.

 

Authorities in the country hope that loosening restrictions and reopening the borders will bring a much-needed boost to Vietnam’s tourism sector, which makes up around one tenth of the state’s gross domestic product.

 

The tourist industry ground to a standstill over the past 2 years thanks to the COVID-19 situation. Many companies are dealing with staff shortages, since many former employees have moved on to other jobs following layoffs.

 

Vietnam took a “zero-COVID” approach to the pandemic, much like neighboring China. Strict lockdowns and curfews hampered businesses and led to widespread layoffs. Around 2.5 million people were employed in tourism in Vietnam before the pandemic began. An estimated 80-90% of companies have had to stop or scale back their operations over the last couple of years.

 

This has all had a huge negative impact on businesses and workers alike. The government’s move to reopen to foreign travelers is seen as a chance to rebuild.

 

The move to reopen the borders has come fair suddenly. For some time, there was no clear plan from the Vietnamese government about how to move forward and when to return to normality.

 

Various other countries in the region have been quicker on their feet. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand have all been quick to lower travel restrictions and welcome back tourists. Vietnam has now joined this list and hopes to recover what it has lost.

 

Now that the borders are open, Vietnam’s tourism industry looks to rebuild. Visitors are being welcomed back to the country, which is known for the unique natural beauty of locations like Hạ Long Bay, charming rural communities, and bustling metropolises like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where the traditional meets the modern.

 

The move to reopen Vietnam is another hopeful sign that the pandemic is coming to a close and that the world is returning to normal. However, travelers from Nigeria should bear in mind that COVID-19 has not disappeared. The infectious Omicron variant is still causing cases worldwide, and Vietnam is no exception.

 

The country is still experiencing new infections thanks to Omicron. Fortunately, the rate of new coronavirus cases in Vietnam has fallen dramatically since it peaked in March, from over 200,000 new cases per day to less than 15,000.

 

This has been an important factor in the government’s decision to reopen the borders to tourists. As long as the situation continues to improve, it is expected that the final travel restrictions will be lifted in the near future.