HCMC – Vietnamese and South Korean tourism authorities inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) strengthening bilateral cooperation in tourism yesterday, December 16, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The two sides want to deepen their ties in promoting digital transformation and developing smart travel cards for visitors.

Authorities in Vietnam and South Korea look to have seven million travelers on both sides by 2024.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said the two nations should ramp up their collaboration in tourism.

In late 2016, Vietnam and South Korea inked an MOU linking tourist markets, promoting travel engagements and enhancing service quality.

Kim Jang-Sil, head of the Korean Tourism Organization, said tourism cooperation has significantly contributed to bolstering bilateral relations between the two countries.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, South Korea was Vietnam’s second biggest source of tourism, with 4.2 million visitors in 2019. Meanwhile, there were 500,000 Vietnamese traveling to South Korea.