Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a project to develop direct international flight routes to promote investment, tourism and international integration.

The project is aimed at expanding the direct international flight route network connecting Viet Nam and the country’s major markets. These include the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Russia and Germany, along with Australia, France, the United Kingdom and India, in addition to potential markets such as United Arab Emirates and South Africa.

The PM said the development of the aviation industry must be associated with the development of the tourism industry.

The expansion of direct routes is expected to enable the tourism industry to attract 17-20 million foreign arrivals in 2020. In 2017, Viet Nam received 13 million foreign visitors.

The tourism industry is expected to contribute 10-20 per cent of gross domestic product and the export value through tourism is expected to reach US$20 billion in 2020, according to the report.

Still, the report added that the expansion must ensure sustainable development.

The project encourages the opening of new international flight routes by both domestic and foreign carriers.

Accordingly, favourable conditions regarding aviation service charges and landing/boarding times will be created for carriers when they launch new routes to and from Viet Nam.

The Ministry of Transport has been asked to work with aviation authorities in major markets on removing difficulties for Vietnamese carriers when they launch new flight routes and on expanding agreements on aviation cooperation.

For the Chinese market, by 2020, Viet Nam plans to open new flight routes from Da Nang, Hai Phong, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc, as well as Da Lat, Hue and Can Tho to Chongquing, Dalian, Haikou and Wuhan.

Other flights will go to Ningbo, Hainan, Xian and Changchun, along with Fuzhou, Guilin, Guiyang, Harbin, Lanzhou, Shenyang, Xiamen, Sipsong Panna and Zhengzhou.

The new plan will also increase transport capacity on existing routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming and Chengdu.

Tourism promotion will also be enhanced to attract Chinese tourists. Statistics showed that 31 per cent of the foreign investors to Viet Nam in 2017 were from China.

For the US market, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will open new direct flight routes to this country. The first destinations could be San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2018.

New flight routes will also be opened by 2020 from Da Nang, Hue, Nha Trang and Da Lat, as well as Phu Quoc and Can Tho, to Tokyo, Osaka, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul.

Other new flight routes will include Ha Noi-Melbourne, HCM City-Brisbane, HCM City-Perth and Da Nang-Russia, as well as Viet Nam-Berlin and Ha Noi/HCM City to Delhi and Mumbai. — VNS