Da Nang experts to welcome new wave of Korean tourists 15:17 Vietnam is the leading country in Southeast Asia in terms of the number of Korean visitors, with 4.3 million arrivals in 2019. Half of them visited the central city of Da Nang. Talking at a recent tourism forum in Da Nang, Mr. Ryu Jae Sang, Director of Hanatour Vietnam, Da Nang branch, said: "Last year, when the Vietnamese government agreed to receive foreign tourists in five provinces and cities, many Korean tourists had plans to take charter flights to Vietnam, including Da Nang. But their plans were canceled due to the Omicron mutation," said Mr. Ryu Jae Sang. Vietnam has officially announced visa exemption and isolation exemption for international visitors to the country, including Korean. South Korea has also eased quarantine rules for people entering the country and exempted people who have been fully vaccinated and have recovered from the disease from isolation. There are scheduled flights from Incheon, Busan, Daegu to Da Nang in April, including charter flights and regular flights. These are good conditions for Korean tourists to return to Vietnam in general and Da Nang in particular and Korean travel firms are busy preparing for this. "We have sold tours on Children's Day (Korea), including tours to Da Nang. There is also a plan to organize the Da Nang - Hoi An golf tournament, with the participation of 150 golfers in early May," said Mr. Ryu Jae Sang. Preparing for a new wave of tourism, Mr. Lee Woo Yeon - Southeast Asia Manager of Modetour Company – asked: if a tourist with mild symptoms of Covid-19 is isolated at a hotel, will he or she be supported by the Da Nang authorities? Do visitors to Vietnam have to have both a quick test and a PCR test to get a negative certificate, or just need one of those two test certificates? "When a visitor’s entry time expires in Vietnam, will the authorities give them a quick test so that the visitor can be confirmed negative when he returns to Korea? If the visitor has critical symptoms of Covid and is hospitalized, how will he be assisted?" asked Mr. Lee Woo Yeon. For the convenience of tourists, Mr. Lee suggested that, after entering Vietnam, the request for rapid testing within the first 24 hours should be abolished. Director of the Da Nang Department of Tourism Ms. Truong Thi Hong Hanh said there are detailed instructions for international tourists in the plan to reopen tourism activities of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. "International visitors need to ensure conditions on entry and exit according to Vietnam's regulations and other relevant regulations when traveling in Vietnam," said Ms. Hanh. The Da Nang Department of Tourism said that the system of services in the city has been reactivated and is ready to serve tourists, with the reopening and re-operation of 70% of the service establishments in the fields of hotels, transportation, and travel. The Department also requires all facilities in the city to have a plan to deal with mild cases of Covid at the hotel and severe cases at the hospital, and to develop basic information related to tourism and medical services, and prices for testing and treatment related to Covid-19 with 21 Covid treatment facilities. VNN