Vietnamese tourism promoted in Germany

It offered an opportunity for Vietnamese and German travel firms to share experience and step up exchanges.

VNAT General Director Nguyen Trung Khanh said both sides boast significant potential to complement each other in cooperation and development, especially in tourism.

He also highlighted Vietnam's potential and advantages to further develop its unique tourism products, noting agriculture and community-based tourism, traditional craft villages, cultural festivals, and cuisines from the Southeast Asian nation are favoured by foreign tourists.

Many Vietnamese tourist destinations and products have been ranked among the world's best by reputable travel websites such as the World Travel Awards, TripAdvisor, Telegraph, and major media outlets, he said.

Germany is one of Vietnam's traditional and major markets in Europe, Khanh said, adding 200,000 German tourists visited the Southeast Asian nation last year, equivalent to 88% of the pre-COVID-19 level, making it the third largest source of tourists to Vietnam in the European Union (EU).

Over recent years, the two tourism sectors have engaged in many cooperative activities, notably the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Hue Tourism College and the FU Education Group of Germany in June 2023 regarding high-quality vocational training, the exchange of experts and lecturers, and the organisation of German language courses.

The launch of direct flights between Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City and Munich operated by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines also creates more favourable conditions for German tourists to visit Vietnam.

Vietnam's tourism industry has conducted activities in Germany to boost tourism exchanges between the two countries. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Government has waived visas for German visitors since 2015, and extended the temporary stay for them to 45 days starting from August 15, 2023.