Feeling shy after a trip back home
I hope these issues are resolved thoroughly and radically.

The press recently spoke about the story of stimulating tourism, then the target of 8 million international visitors, or why most foreign visitors do not return? I can also be considered an insider, because my brothers, sisters, brothers and grandchildren have settled abroad, considered as foreigners, want to go back to Vietnam to travel, even to visit relatives in the family. The family also feels embarrassed. Here are their feelings, I would like to share with you readers of VnExpress.

Suffering from visa application

As a citizen of the same European country, my relatives go almost all over the world without a visa, but to return to Vietnam to visit relatives or travel, a visa is required. This is an extremely tiring and annoying story, but we have not been able to solve it for many years.

Where my brothers, sisters and brothers come to apply for a visa, there is almost no clear working time (from Monday to Friday): Those who want to apply for a visa, have to wait and wait, go two or three hundred kilometers to arrive. If the place is closed in the morning, one must sit in the car to wait or rent a hotel nearby, in the afternoon stop by to see if it is open to work. If it still doesn't work, you'll have to start a new loop the next day. If someone says why don't you call before coming, the truth is that the other end of the line rarely picks up, so even if you want to ask first, it's okay.

Another problem is that there is no list of visa prices: my father is seriously ill, and my brothers and I invite each other to return urgently. Although in the same country, just different city, but my brother paid a visa fee of 85 euros, while my brother had to pay up to 500 euros - the difference was too big. When the younger brother asked the consular officer why the price was so high, he received only a half-hearted answer.

Lack of sympathy for airports

Sitting on the plane for 20 hours, both tired and drunk, but when I came to check in immigration, what made my brother unforgettable was the cold, somewhat scowling face of the customs officer. . Many people have asked me, why can't immigration officers in Vietnam be as cheerful and friendly as in Thailand or Singapore? Maybe partly because they are overloaded because our airports are always overloaded, but actually those expressions partly reduce the sympathy from international friends when they come to Vietnam.

Going out is like going to war

My biological grandchildren were sent to Vietnam by their parents to visit relatives, as well as to travel, they panicked the first time they set foot in their homeland. They cannot imagine that in Vietnam, when walking (the area around the house) they have to walk down the road because the sidewalks and curbs have been occupied by restaurants and shops. Where there is no traffic police, the traffic is more chaotic, green lights as well as red lights, people keep racing at high speed, crossing lanes, honking loudly, never giving way to pedestrians.

Personally, I don't blame my grandchildren. Because during the days in Vietnam, they have witnessed with their own eyes the scene of people fighting for guests, violent fighting right at the tourist areas, combined with the fact that cars are running together, despite the law, having to walk. under the road...

Tourism 'scamming'

Talking about how to do tourism in Vietnam, I can immediately mention the following painful issues:

Many streets and beaches are full of garbage, and many public toilets are unsanitary.

Clinging to tourists: street vendors are willing to stick to my family when traveling, even they put things in our pockets, pants pockets to force us to buy things for them blatantly.

Red eyes looking for toilets: Even in big tourist cities like Da Lat, Nha Trang, Da Nang... it's not easy for you to find a public toilet.

Before settling abroad, my brothers and sisters traveled quite a lot such as Da Nang, Nha Trang, Vung Tau, Da Lat, Hue, Phu Quoc, Phan Thiet, Western provinces in the 1990s. lead them back to these places, they are disappointed because many places have already been concreted.

For example, when going to Da Lat city, my relatives said: "Why is it like Saigon, the whole house is the same, it's the same in Saigon when turning on the air conditioner". Or like coming to Phan Thiet, there are no more forests lying on the long romantic beach, because the resort covers all the sea scenery.

Hacking, vulgarity at souvenir shops in tourist areas: this is like a series, many people have said it too much, so I don't want to repeat it. Over the years, it seems that we have not done anything to change this sad situation.

Pickpocketing, robbery: this is also a pain year after year in our country, but if I ask if the situation has improved, I may not find any reason or evidence to say "yes" ".

Last word, I just want to say to all the people doing tourism in the country one thing that, if we want to attract tourists, consider this as an economic spearhead, we must first radically change the whole thing. muscle. Let's start from the existing inadequacies that have made people angry over the years to find a way to thoroughly solve it, improve it every day.

Tourism development is not only about organizing meetings, seminars, and planning on paper, but also having to act decisively and immediately. Let's look directly at the reality of the country's tourism, it is better to hurt once than let the pain persist. The Creator has endowed Vietnam with a majestic and poetic natural landscape, so don't just rush to concretize tourist areas and put on beautiful words like integration and innovation.

By Mr Đình

P/s: Vivutravel agrees with the ideas of the writer. However, we have some suggestions: For visa, it is convenient to apply Vietnam visa online or contact local travel companies in Vietnam like Vivutravel, we can help to have your Vietnam visa done in 1 working day (urgent case), 2-3 working days (normal case). For a Vietnam tour package, Vivutravel knows exactly how to plan a great trip, avoid crowded places, pay less, enjoy more. What you need is to drop us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..