Vietnam hikes US visa fees five-fold
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American visitors to Vietnam how have to pay five times more to enter the country.
The hike follows the roll-out of a new multiple-entry visa for US citizens, which costs US$135. This is more than five times more expensive than the US$25 charged for the previous single-entry visa, which is now been scrapped.
Vu The Binh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, told the Saigon Times that the switch is already having an adverse effect on tourism.
“Many groups of visitors from the US to Vietnam are being hindered by the new regulation,” he was quoted saying. “Most tourists want a single visit for a short time. They do not need the new visa with much higher fee.”
Almost 293,000 Americans visited Vietnam in the first half of 2016, making it the country’s fourth largest source market. The visa switch was agreed with US authorities as part of a bilateral agreement.
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