Hanoi (VNS/VNA)🦩 - The recent announcement from the Henley & Partners Passport Index shows that Vietnam passport's strength has dropped for the second time in a row since January last year – and is now ranked 91st globally.

In the Henley ranking, in the first quarter of last year, the Vietnamese passport held the 87th position. Then it dropped three places in the third quarter, to 90th position, with the fall continuing to the 91st position. With the ranking, Vietnamese citizens can enter 51 destinations without a visa or only need to apply for an e-visa, a border visa, or an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) out of a total of 199 countries and territories (similar benefits to the 90th position). From the end of last month, Vietnamese passport holders has been exempted from visa requirements when visiting Belarus, according to the bilateral visa exemption agreement between the two countries. Some destinations that Vietnamese citizens can enter without a visa or only need an e-visa or a border visa include Barbados, Bolivia, Brunei, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde Islands, Chile, Comoro Islands, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Dominica, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Iran, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Panama, Philippines, Suriname, Taiwan (China), Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Tuvalu. In Henley's top ten of the most powerful passports in the world, Asia has four representatives including Singapore (holding the top position, owning the most powerful passport in the world, visa-free access to 195 countries and territories), Japan (top two), the Republic of Korea (top three), and the UAE (top 10). In Southeast Asia, Laos is ranked 93rd while Myanmar is ranked 94th. The remaining countries are ranked above Vietnam, from 51st to 89th. This puts Vietnam's passport in terms of regional ranking only above Laos and Myanmar.

Increasing competition and ranking

The passport’s high ranking reflects a safe, stable country, makes it attractive to international visitors and especially attracts high-end visitors from developed countries. This not only contributes to positioning Vietnam as a priority destination for high-quality tourism products, but also makes the country's image more trustworthy and increases its prestige with other countries. The passport will be a source of pride to help Vietnamese people confidently travel around the world. A highly ranked passport works as an effective marketing tool, helping to expand international cooperation, consolidate and enhance the country's position on the world tourism map and attract investment in tourism and services. To increase the competitiveness and ranking of Vietnamese passports, experts believe that a comprehensive strategy is needed to promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation with strategic partners. A representative from the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) said that Vietnam's proactive diplomatic efforts would help increase international trust, which would easily lead to visa exemption or visa procedures being simplified when entering many countries. In addition, impressive economic growth and integration into global markets have also contributed to strengthening Vietnam's reputation as a stable and trustworthy partner, enhancing the country's image in the eyes of international friends. One of the suggestions stressed a need for Vietnam to participate in data sharing programmes, border controls and anti-illegal immigration with other countries. In addition building the image of Vietnam as a peaceful and stable country, promoting international cooperation, enhancing the country's position in ASEAN to promote visa-free cooperation policy in the region, is also key. Vietnamese tourists also need to build a good image when travelling to other countries, because every citizen can represent the image of the country in a positive way, enhancing the customs and traditional culture of the host country. The Henley & Partners Passport Index, which draws data from the International Air Transport Association, is a large database of travel information published two or three times a year. The index has been ranking passports of countries and territories since 2006. The Henley & Partners list is one of many rankings compiled by financial institutions to assess the power of global passports./.