Vietnamese visitors to Singapore down

The decrease was attributable to a fall in the number of Vietnamese visitors to Singapore from May to August and a pickup in demand for cheaper tours to other regional countries with easier immigration requirements.

Figures of the STB showed that Vietnamese visitor arrivals in Singapore dropped 1.8% in May, 7.2% in June, 2.2% in July and 5.4% in August compared to the same months of last year. This was in stark contrast to the same period last year when the numbers went up, with the highest monthly rise put at 20.1%.

Travel companies in HCMC said many Vietnamese people have been denied entry into the island state without clear reasons this year, leading many Vietnamese to stay away from Singapore, especially free individual travelers (FITs).

Moreover, prices of tours to Singapore are higher than those to other regional nations and many Vietnamese have managed to pay more for tours to new destinations including South Korea.

Ta Thi Cam Vinh, outbound manager of Ben Thanh Tourist, said Vietnamese people’s bookings of Singapore tours arranged by the company have inched down slightly though the company has made good preparations for guests to enter Singapore without a snag.

Vinh said from this summer the company has written to the STB asking for its certification for its Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) guests and this certification is then sent to the Singapore immigration department before they arrive.

Vinh said even groups of several hundreds of people can get through the Singaporean immigration with ease.

A few months ago, Vietnamese budget carriers Vietjet and Jetstar Pacific complained that Singapore immigration officers had forced big numbers of Vietnamese passengers flying with them to come back to Vietnam without justified reasons though they produced sufficient travel documents.

To avoid losses estimated at billions of Vietnam dong, Vietjet and Jetstar Pacific asked relevant agencies to request Singapore to clarify why many Vietnamese passengers, mainly women, had been denied entry.

Last year, Singapore attracted 424,408 visitors from Vietnam, up 11.5% over 2013.

Vietnamese visitors to Singapore down

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