Vu The Binh, head of the Travel Department of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said all relevant ministries had approved a plan that allowed in foreign travelers' cars with permission from the administration.

"The plan is now before the Prime Minister. We expect the plan to be implemented late this year," he said.

Now vehicles driven by or carrying international travelers should spend a lot of time seeking permission from various authorities or even the Prime Minister to enter the country.

The current regulations allow in these vehicles via selected border gates.

At a time when it is increasingly hard to attract international tourists, easy road transportation will help the country attract more visitors from the Mekong sub-region, said Binh.

"We have also submitted plans to open more border gates for tourists," he said.

According to him, the country will open another border gate in the northern province of Dien Bien for tourists from Luang Prabang, a well-known tourist attraction of Laos, to easily enter Vietnam.

Tay Trang is now the only border gate for international tourists to enter the province, so the new border gate will help shorten the distance between Laos and Vietnam's Dien Bien by around 100 km, he said.

In the first six months of this year, visitors coming from ASEAN countries still grew in number but those from key markets such as Japan, South Korea, the U.S., China and Britain want down.

Thai tourist arrivals soared 52.9% year-on-year to 122,415, those from Malaysia 90,000, up 24.8%, and those from Singapore over 80,900, up nearly 30%.