Vietjet to launch new direct routes to global economic hubs as tourism rebounds

Budget carrier Vietjet Air has announced it will open new routes connecting Vietnam’s top tourist destinations with global economic hubs as tourism shows signs of a strong recovery.

On November 21, Vietjet Air will open two new routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s southern economic hub, with Australia's Perth and Adelaide with five flights a week.

Vietjet Air will be the first Vietnamese carrier to operate flights connecting Vietnam with five largest cities in Australia.

Perth is the fourth largest city in the "Country of Kangaroos" and also the capital of Western Australia, with good weather most of the year, while Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and the fifth largest city in Australia, with terrain stretching from the coast to the hills. Adelaide is also known for its many festivals and sporting events, food and wine, bustling beaches, and large manufacturing zones.

On December 10, the private airline will open a route connecting Vietnam’s biggest island Phu Quoc in the south with South Korea’s Busan city with seven flights a week.

Starting January next year, Vietjet Air will also launch a route linking Phu Quoc and Taipei in Taiwan with four flights a week.

From December 22, the Hanoi-Hong Kong route will officially be opened with seven return flights each week.

The carrier’s opening of a series of routes to Asian cities comes at a time when Vietnam’s tourism industry has witnessed a strong rebound of foreign tourist arrivals.

Vietnam welcomed 8.9 million foreign tourists in the first nine months of the year, surpassing the yearly target of 8 million. South Korea was the biggest source of tourists with 2.5 million arrivals, followed by mainland China (1.1 million), Taiwan (575,000), and the U.S. (548,000).

With the tourism industry already exceeding this year’s target, insiders expected Vietnam could welcome 12 million international tourists by year-end.

Starting August 15, Vietnam extended visa-free entry from 15 days to 45 days for passport holders from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. It has also extended the duration of e-visas from 30 days to three months with multiple entries.

Citizens of another 80 countries, including major economies such as India, Australia and the U.S., are currently eligible to enter the country using an e-visa.

Budget airline VietJet Air, owned by Vietnam’s first female billionaire Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, was named "Asia's Leading Airline for Customer Experience 2023" at the annual World Travel Awards last month.

VietJet, also known as the "bikini airline", launched 11 international routes in the second quarter of this year to Australia, Indonesia and India, raising its air links to 120, including 75 overseas destinations.