Hong Kong wants to pilot travel bubble in Vietnam

Hong Kong (China) wishes to work closely with the Consulate General of Vietnam to pilot the travel bubble.

Jason Wong, Chairman of the Hong Kong Travel Industry Council (L) and Consul General of Vietnam in Hong Kong (China) Pham Binh Dam (R). Photo: TTXVN

At a meeting with Vietnamese Consul General Pham Binh Dam in Hong Kong (China) on August 4, Jason Wong, Chairman of the Hong Kong Travel Industry Council (TIC), said the resort island of Phu Quoc in the southern province of Kien Giang is an ideal place to deploy the travel corridor if the two sides reach an agreement on isolation exemption and specific implementation mechanisms.

Consul General of Vietnam in Hong Kong (China) Pham Binh Dam said, with the current difficult situation of travel restrictions, industry associations are required to be proactive, creative and propose viable solutions to their respective governments. 

With no end in sight to the pandemic, border closures are causing businesses and economies to collapse while failing to keep countries absolutely safe, he added. 

Dam said opening the border will be a process, which needs to be piloted on a small scale before being expanded. The Consulate General of Vietnam will closely coordinate with TIC and relevant agencies of Vietnam and Hong Kong (China) to promote and implement a pilot travel corridor as soon as circumstances permit.

In the immediate future, the Vietnamese side asked the TIC to coordinate with businessmen and investors in Hong Kong (China) about the visa application to Vietnam and compile a list for the Vietnamese side to assist in carrying out the necessary procedures.

Consul General of Vietnam in Hong Kong (China) Dam also proposed to coordinate with the TIC to organize a number of seminars and online forums between the management agencies, associations, and travel businesses of the two sides to share information and discuss measures to facilitate and stimulate tourism in the post-Covid-19 period.

For his side, Wong said Vietnam is an increasingly attractive destination for people in Hong Kong (China). The TIC will work with the Vietnamese side to promote the tourism markets of the two sides in the near future.