The Government of Vietnam has announced that it is extending its visa exemption program for UK passport holders for single-entry stays of up to 15 days, until 30 June 2017.

The policy, which was first introduced on 1 July 2015, also applies to French, German, Spanish and Italian nationals.

According to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office, 4.7m people visited the country in the first six months of 2016, representing a 21.3 percent increase on last year’s figures.

It is also being reported that annual tourism revenues have risen by 22% to VND200 trillion (£6.8bn). The extension of the visa exemption program comes just after the introduction of Vietnam Airlines’ daily nonstop services between Heathrow and Vietnam – a new Thursday flight to Hanoi was added to the national flag carrier and SkyTeam member’s existing six flights per week schedule on 23 June 2016.

Vietnam Airlines offers the UK’s only nonstop flights to Vietnam, operating the B787-9 Dreamliner from Heathrow Terminal 4. The flights are scheduled to offer overnight journeys in both directions, and onward connections via a network of over 40 destinations in Asia, including 23 within Vietnam and Indochina as well as China, Japan and Taiwan.