Impressive recovery, Vietnam targets over 400 million rich Indian tourists

Highest recovery rate in ASEAN

In 2024, Vietnam will welcome more than 501,000 Indian visitors, an increase of 297% compared to 2019 (about 169,000 visitors).

The Indian market has the highest recovery rate among the top 20 markets to Vietnam, while in China, the recovery rate is only 64%; Japan 75%, Korea 106%, ...

The above information was provided by Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh, Head of the Secretariat of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) at the workshop Promoting Vietnam - India Tourism in the new context that just took place.

According to TAB representative, the number of Indian tourists to Vietnam last year increased 2.6 times compared to 2019, creating a different color in the general picture of Indian tourism to ASEAN countries. That proves that India is a potential and strongly developing market - Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh assessed.

Furthermore, according to experts, the explosion of Indian tourists contributes to diversifying international tourist sources for Vietnam tourism, especially in the context of large markets such as China not fully recovering, and slow recovery of Korean and Japanese tourists.

According to Ambassador Sandeep Arya, Embassy of India in Vietnam, the opening of more direct flights between the two countries is one of the important reasons for the increase in the number of visitors. To date, there have been 56 direct flights from Vietnam to 6 major cities in India, with 14 new routes expected to be added this year.

Visitors from this country especially like Hanoi , Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City. Ambassador Sandeep Arya said that Nha Trang and Sa Pa are also in the travel plans of many Indian visitors; therefore, more promotion is needed for these destinations.

According to Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh, while Indian tourists come to Vietnam and Thailand mainly for vacation, accounting for nearly 85% and 92% respectively, they choose Malaysia and Singapore for business and work purposes.

However, in competing with Thailand to attract Indian tourists, Vietnam is still far behind when Indian tourists are always in the top 3 of the top 10 markets (2019, 2023, 2024) of Thailand.

In 2023, more than 1.6 million Indian visitors came to the Land of Golden Temples, an increase of more than 66% compared to 2022. In 2024, thanks to visa exemption measures and allowing stays of up to 60 days as well as opening many new routes, Thailand welcomed 2 million Indian visitors this year (4 times more than Vietnam), putting India in the top 5 countries with the most visitors.

Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, Director of the Center for Indian Studies (VCASI), Institute of South Asian, West Asian and African Studies, commented that the number of Indian visitors to Vietnam still accounts for a small proportion, 2.8% (2024). The length of stay of Indian visitors in Vietnam tends to decrease, from 21 days in 2019 to 19.5 days in 2022. This could affect total revenue from tourists.

Need to improve visa, open more flights

The potential from the Indian tourist market is still huge as TAB's report indicates that the Indian middle class will increase from 33% in 2022 to 46% by 2030.

For Indian tourists in Vietnam, language is considered the biggest barrier.

Former Vietnamese Ambassador to India, Mr. Ton Sinh Thanh, said that to attract Indian tourists, it is necessary to expand flight routes, especially direct flights. He analyzed that Phu Quoc alone has 60 routes, while India with more than 1.4 billion people and an area 10 times larger than Vietnam has only 56 direct flights. Meanwhile, looking at competitors, Thailand has about 200 routes to India and Malaysia is similar.

In addition, the representative of the Tourism Advisory Council recommended developing tourism services suitable to Indian culture, having a strong promotion program, improving visa policies such as issuing visas at the border gate (visa on arrival) and then moving towards bilateral visa exemption.

A survey by the Center for Indian Studies found that 100% of Indian tourists surveyed appreciated the friendliness of Vietnamese people. They also paid attention to nature and landscape (56%), entertainment activities (44%) and unique cuisine (33%). Meanwhile, 80% said they encountered language barriers.

Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh noted that the increasing proportion of middle class and rich people in India, strong growth is a good signal for Vietnamese tourism businesses to trust and invest in attracting visitors.

However, in addition to vacationers, it is necessary to promote the exploitation of business guests, fairgoers, MICE tourists, wedding organizers, etc.

The event of India's largest pharmaceutical group, Sun Pharmaceutical of billionaire Dilip Shanghvi, bringing more than 4,500 employees to Vietnam for tourism in August 2024 is proof that we can absolutely organize to welcome large groups of Indian guests, for events other than vacations.

In attracting Indian tourists to Vietnam, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien noted that there are two barriers: limited cuisine and expensive services. These are factors that have a great impact on the tourist experience and the decision to return.

Therefore, she suggested that it is necessary to develop more vegetarian and Indian restaurants to meet the unique tastes of tourists. Create conditions for restaurants to obtain Halal certification, suitable for the needs of the Muslim community. In particular, it is necessary to train restaurant staff in professional service procedures, respecting the culture and beliefs of customers.

Regarding expensive services, it is necessary to make service prices at tourist attractions and hotels transparent to create trust with customers. At the same time, build suitable travel packages, bringing optimal value to customers. Strengthen inspection and supervision to avoid unreasonable price increases.

Welcoming 4,500 Indian guests: A 'test' for Vietnam's MICE tourism The arrival of 4,500 Indian guests to Vietnam, in addition to the benefits it brings, is also a "test" that exposes issues that the tourism industry needs to pay attention to and solve, especially in developing MICE tourism.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/du-lich-viet-nam-nham-den-hon-400-trieu-khach-nha-giau-an-do-2361377.html