Russian nationals will be exempted from visa when entering Vietnam within 15 days from January 1, 2009, according to a decision of the Vietnamese Prime Minister.

The fresh decision will apply to Russian ordinary passport holders regardless of the purpose of their visit.

In 2007, over 60,000 Russian visitors toured Vietnam, and the number is forecast to reach 70,000 this year, the National Administration for Tourism said.

At present, in addition to daily non-stop flights linking Russia and Vietnam, travel companies charter flights to Vietnam once or twice a week.