Visa exemption for billionaires, Vietnam welcomes "rich guests" to spend money

"Waiting to apply for a visa is a barrier to welcoming rich guests"?

Recently, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to study appropriate visa policies, especially for traditional friendly countries, diversifying visa exemptions with a number of countries and groups such as billionaires around the world.

This is the government's latest move to loosen visa policies, aiming to attract international visitors and stimulate tourism development.

Speaking with Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh, Head of the Secretariat of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), commented that attracting experts, talented people and billionaires from around the world brings many benefits to Vietnam.

Not only increasing tourism revenue and promoting destinations, billionaires and wealthy businessmen can invest directly in Vietnam, contributing to the development of capital markets, real estate, technology and many other fields.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed billionaire Jensen Huang during his trip to Vietnam in December 2024 (Photo: Manh Quan).

In addition, influential people such as billionaires or international experts often attract media attention. Their positive experiences in Vietnam can become "free advertising", enhancing the destination's image. Major events and international conferences with the participation of important figures will also help position Vietnam as an attractive and classy destination.

"If we exempt visas for this group, we will not only attract experts, talented businessmen, and the rich to our country, but also encourage high-end tourists to come to Vietnam. This move contributes to promoting Vietnam's image to the world, helping the country become an attractive destination in the region and internationally," Mr. Chinh said.

This can be demonstrated through billionaire Bill Gates' trip to Da Nang in March 2024. After the American billionaire left, it created a huge boost for local tourism.

Statistics from digital travel platform Agoda show that in the first months of this year, Da Nang became the most searched destination by American tourists at 1,538%. This figure increased dramatically compared to the same period in 2024, recording the most impressive growth among the top destinations.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Hanh, CEO of All Asia Vacation (AAV), affirmed that visa exemption for billionaires and successful businessmen is a reasonable policy and should be implemented soon.

In recent times, Vietnam has become a destination chosen by many billionaires and the super-rich to come and experience vacations. In 2024 and the first months of this year, Vietnam has been rushing to welcome this special group of guests.

"Vietnam is a resort trend for the super-rich. However, to attract billionaire tourists, we need special mechanisms, one of which is the visa mechanism," Mr. Hanh said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook raises his hand in greeting during his trip to Hanoi (Photo: Manh Quan).

Currently, Vietnam exempts visas for citizens of 25 countries (using ordinary passports). On March 7, the Government announced visa exemption for citizens of 12 countries who are allowed to stay in Vietnam for 45 days from the date of entry, regardless of passport type or purpose of entry.

Vietnam's new visa policy is considered to have many open points, however, compared to neighboring countries, there are still many problems.

For Visa-on-Arrival (visa at the airport), international visitors still have to apply for pre-approval, not just arriving and applying for a visa directly at the border gate like some other countries. Along with that, visitors have to spend time waiting for the visa to be issued.

"Long wait times are a big barrier for wealthy customers. This group of customers are willing to spend more than the average, but they travel on impulse and want to be welcomed.

There are cases where Vietnamese travel companies have almost finalized 80% of their schedules with customers, but when they know they have to wait for visas, they still decide to switch to new destinations with free and more flexible visa policies such as Thailand and Singapore," said Mr. Hanh.

This is a group of customers with very high spending ability, willing to book the entire luxury yacht to enjoy private space with a view of Ha Long Bay (Photo: Paradise Vietnam).

According to this business owner, although billionaire customers only make up a very small percentage of the world's population, they have very large spending levels and set exceptionally high standards.

Each super-rich guest can spend up to 15,000 USD/day (nearly 400 million VND) excluding airfare, dozens of times more than the average guest. This amount of money contributes greatly to the economy and creates an image for local tourism.

Therefore, according to Mr. Hanh, cases of tourists changing direction from Vietnam to other countries due to visa issues are truly regrettable.

"A suitable visa policy is not only an open "door" to welcome talent and investment, but also a strategic tool to help Vietnam make the most of opportunities from the globalization trend.

If we do this effectively, it will bring long-term benefits, helping Vietnam move faster on the path of sustainable development and national modernization," Mr. Hanh commented.

How do Thailand, Singapore... roll out the red carpet to welcome billionaires?

Looking at countries surrounding Vietnam such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia... all have quickly implemented flexible visa policies or special programs to attract wealthy tourists.

Singapore launches network visa program for high-income and successful foreign professionals to live and work (Photo: HR).

Thailand has long been known for its friendly visa policies to attract this type of visitor. For example, the Long-Term Resident Visa program aims to attract the super-rich, wealthy retirees, digital nomads and highly skilled professionals.

This policy allows foreign visitors who are wealthy global citizens, own at least 1 million USD in assets, have a minimum personal income of 80,000 USD/year for 2 years, invest at least 500,000 USD in Thai government bonds, and have the right to reside in this country for 10 years.

In addition, from January 2025, this country will allow visitors to apply for electronic visas (e-visas) anytime, anywhere around the world with visas of up to 60 days for visitors in 93 countries and territories. With a series of these loosened policies, in 2024, this country will welcome more than 35 million international visitors, bringing in revenue of more than 52 billion USD.

Similarly, Singapore is also focused on becoming a financial center and luxury destination for the global super-rich.

Over the years, Singapore has implemented the Overseas Network & Expertise Pass program that allows high-income and successful individuals to live in Singapore, or the Entrepreneur Pass (EntrePass) that is specifically for foreign entrepreneurs who want to set up innovative businesses in Singapore.

Malaysia is also not out of the race with policies aimed at the wealthy group. Malaysia has implemented the Resident-Talent (RP-T) program for highly skilled foreign experts working in the country.

These policies are considered "rolling out the red carpet" to welcome wealthy tourists to travel, work and... spend money.

From practical experience working in the industry and comparing with countries around the world and in the region, many experts believe that Vietnam needs to soon have preferential visa policies to create leverage for tourism.

Two American millionaires took a photo with a truck during their visit to Hanoi in February (Photo: AAV).

However, visas should not be considered the only key; visa exemption is a necessary but not sufficient condition. According to experts, to attract this type of customer, a synchronous strategy is needed to retain and attract this specific group of customers.

The Head of the TAB Secretariat commented that an open and attractive visa policy needs to be implemented synchronously with improvements in infrastructure, services, and promotional strategies.

"If we only rely on visa exemption without careful preparation, the impact will be limited. Therefore, this is a potential 'key', but to open the golden door, Vietnam needs more than just this one key," Mr. Chinh said.

To welcome super-rich guests, we need personalized, creative, and tailor-made tourism products, not mass-produced, popular products.

Along with that, Vietnam needs to develop tourism in a sustainable direction, focusing on environmental protection, avoiding overloading that causes destinations to lose value.

Because, although some destinations in our country are attractive, there are times when they are too crowded, making it difficult to attract high-end visitors to experience. To create a difference, Vietnam needs to have models of zoning destinations specifically for high-end visitors.

"In addition to creating different product lines for billionaire guests, we should also have separate mechanisms for travel companies that are able to welcome this special type of guest.

"If we are confined in a cramped space, it will be difficult for travel companies to be creative and launch products with creative and intellectual imprints for VIP guests," Mr. Hanh commented.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/mien-visa-cho-ty-phu-viet-nam-don-khach-sop-toi-tieu-tien-20250312173929439.htm