Mr. Vu The Binh from the Department of Travel under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, told that everyday the country was receiving foreign travelers who enter Vietnam without paying for a visa.

“We even receive five to six groups a day. We will have the biggest group of 103 tourists on August 21,” he said.

This group will arrive in the northern city of Hai Phong from Macau. Visitors of the group are from Hong Kong, China and Portugal.

According to Mr. Binh, Saigontourist Travel Service Co. and Indochina Services are the leaders in exempting visa fees.

In May, the Government agreed to exempt visa fees for foreigners who enter Vietnam on package tours under “Impressive Vietnam”.

The national tourism agency reported that after eight months, “Impressive Vietnam” had attracted 90 travel firms, 120 hotels, three transportation companies and many restaurants and shopping venues. Via the program, foreign tourists get discounts of 30% to 50% on package tours.

The program will be extended until the end of this year to lure more international tourists. Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, told that the national tourism authority would meet with tourism companies and local tourism departments in HCMC late this week to raise the efficiency of the program.

The administration reported that nearly 2.2 million international tourists had visited Vietnam in the first seven months of this year, down 17.8% year-on-year. Domestic tourists reached nearly 14 million, up 13%. Tourism revenue in the period reached VND32.4 trillion, up 8.7% year-on-year.