Nov. 18—SEOUL ( Vietnam News/ANN) — The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on Wednesday operated its first pilot flight carrying international tourists from Seoul, Republic of Korea, to the central coastal city of Danang.
Aboard the flight were passengers from the RoK, the US, UK, Austria, Czech Republic and Australia, who travelled to Vietnam for vacations or to visit relatives.
To board the flight, each passenger needed a vaccine passport, a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before departure, and a return ticket, among other requirements.
Before boarding, Oh Young-roh, a RoK national, told the Vietnam News Agency that he was visiting Vietnam to see his family.
He hoped the Vietnamese Government would consider reducing the current quarantine period of seven days for those having negative test results and being fully vaccinated for at least two weeks before their arrival.
Tommy Addis from the US said that he was glad to be returning to Vietnam and that he respects all regulations for pandemic prevention and control of the nation.
William Hale, also from the US, said Vietnam has protected its citizens very well during the pandemic. With the vaccines and PCR tests, local people have been able to travel quite comfortably and international tourists have also started thinking about traveling to Vietnam, he added.
Upon their arrival in Hoiana Complex Resort in Duy Xuyen District, all the visitors tested for COVID-19. After having test results showing negative for SARS-CoV-2, they will register travel programmes as schedule.
During their seven-day stay in Quang Nam, the visitors will stay in Hoiana Complex Resort, visit Vinpearl Land South Hoi An, Hoi An Ancient Town, and My Son World Cultural Heritage Site.
Nguyen Thanh Hong, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said this is a positive signal for the local tourism sector, contributing to promoting Quang Nam's image as a safe destination for domestic and foreign visitors.
Holiday-makers coming to Quang Nam are required to be given two full shots of vaccines against COVID-19, and strictly follow COVID-19 prevention regulations of the locality and the Ministry of Health.
According to Hong, Quang Nam is scheduled to welcome 100 foreign visitors on November 18, and 200 others on November 25 from the US, the RoK and Canada.
On November 11, two charter flights brought more than 400 South Korean and Japanese fully vaccinated passengers from Seoul and Tokyo to the southern resort city of Nha Trang.
Phu Quoc ready to welcome tourists
Phú Quoc island city in the southern province of Kien Giang will also welcome the first international tourist group arriving in Vietnam on November 20.
A total of 209 tourists from the Republic of Korea (RoK) will come to Phu Quoc on a Vietjet flight for a four day, three night package tour at the Phu Quoc United Center.
The tourists will board Flight VJ3749 from Incheon International Airport and land in Phu Quoc International Airport at 12pm on November 20.
The tour's whole itinerary has been coordinated by Vinpearl's strategic partner, Highland Marketing Tourism Company and Vietjet Air to bring the Korean tourists, who have "vaccine passports", to the Phu Quoc United Center following the international arrival guidelines of Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Kien Giang province.
The airline will continue to operate 24 trips to Khanh Hoa, Quang Nam and Quang Ninh that have been allowed to welcome international tourists on a pilot basis.
Nguyen Minh Tam, deputy head of the Marketing and Sales Department of Vietnam Airlines, said the airline has worked with a number of key markets to open 15 to 20 charter flights from now until the end of January. VNS
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