An ad about vaccine tours notes that only one-way tickets are provided. The HCM City Tourism Department has warned the public against such tours due to possible hidden costs and a risk of no return flights. (Photo: VNA)

Travel operators have been selling “vaccine tours” which provide only one-way tickets. There is no information about the return ticket on the ads, and other features remain unclear, according to the department.

Speaking at a recent meeting with tour operators, Nguyen Quy Phuong, director of the Tourism Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said people must be careful before booking the tours.

“The vaccine tours are costly and only offer one-way tickets, and information regarding vaccinations is vague and there is no guarantee that the customer’s needs will be met.”

“Organizing such a vaccine tour is not feasible in the current situation,’’ he said.

Rachael Chen, spokesperson for the US Embassy, said that foreign nationals who want to temporarily visit the US must show their purpose of travel and must meet all requirements and be approved for the visa for which they applied. 
Eligibility for vaccination remains the jurisdiction of health services in individual US states and the US government, she said. 

Recently, ads for vaccine tours to the US have flooded social media in Vietnam.
According to the ads, one tour costs 45 million VND (1,950 USD) for an eight-day trip, including one-way air ticket from HCM City to US cities like New York or Los Angeles, three-star hotel, and a single dose of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, local media have reported.

The jabs developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna require a two-dose regimen with a 21-day interval, while Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine needs only one dose.

Experts said the total cost for the vaccine tour, including entry fees, quarantine, testing, and air tickets for the return could be up to 170 million VND (7,000 USD) per person.

Vu The Binh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said the sale of vaccine tours to the US was not prohibited but warned that tourists returning to Vietnam will have to comply with pandemic measures under the guidance from the Ministry of Health, including the current 21-day concentrated quarantine and COVID testing.