Vietnam will remove its COVID-19 restrictions on commercial flights from almost all markets as of February 15th according to the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper. 

Vietnam was one of the first countries to impose travel restrictions and despite early success as keeping the virus at bay it came at a huge cost to the Vietnamese economy with the tourism sector accounting for almost 10 percent of the nations gross domestic product (GDP)

“Vietnam will lift restrictions on international flights starting February 15. The frequency of flights will be restored to pre-pandemic level,” According to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam. The report further added that all international partner had been informed, with only China not agreeing to resume commercial flights. 

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How open is Vietnam and what are the requirements? 

Vietnam has been slowly opening with commercial flights from 15 markets including Cambodia resuming at the beginning of the year. The country has also started to ease quarantine restrictions with visitors now required to self-isolate for 3 days on arrival rather than undergo full quarantine measures. 

The easing though only apples to visitors who have received a full dose of a World Health Organisation (WHO) vaccine and does not apply to land borders.

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The move comes after Vietnam has achieved vaccination of around 98 percent of its population.  The announcement from Vietnam follows on from the full opening of Cambodia, Thailand, East Timor and most lately the Philippines within the ASEAN block and it is hoped that more nations opening their borders will help jump-start the tourist industry within the region.