Indian tourists - the 'gold mine' of Vietnamese tourism

Indian tourists, the world's most populous market, are considering Vietnam as a top destination and promise to be a "gold mine" for Vietnamese tourism.

Indian tourists’ interest in Vietnam has grown since the pandemic. The head of the booking app Agoda last week pointed out that more and more Indian tourists are flocking to Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, and predicted that the number of Indian tourists coming to Vietnam “has increased by at least 1,000% compared to before the pandemic.” Agoda data shows that searches for Vietnam by Indian tourists have increased by 390% compared to 2019.

Indian tourists at Cam Ranh airport ( Khanh Hoa ) in 2022. Photo: Mien Chinh

Ms. Nguyen Quynh Trang, Marketing Manager of Threeland Travel - a unit specializing in welcoming Indian guests - said that the number of guests of the company has increased by more than 100% compared to before the pandemic. The main reason is that there are direct flights between the two countries, thereby shortening travel time for guests.

Previously, Indian tourists to Vietnam had to transfer in Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, which took 8-9 hours. Therefore, just flying there and back took Indian tourists two days, while they are not a group that tends to take long vacations, usually 5-6 days (not including travel time).

This led to the fact that there were not too many Indian tourists coming to Vietnam before the pandemic. In 2019, there were about 169,000 Indian tourists coming to Vietnam, ranking 16th in the list of markets sending the most international tourists to Vietnam.

Besides the advantage of flight routes, Ms. Trang added that Vietnam is also a new destination for many Indian tourists. Compared to European tourists who are too familiar with Vietnam, India is a more accessible and promoted market. The number of Indian tourists is also abundant with about 1.4 billion people, divided into many segments and types of tourism .

A representative of Threeland Travel said that Indian tourists usually spend about 70-80 USD per day on tours in Vietnam. This cost includes hotels, meals and sightseeing, and is equivalent to about 80 USD for European tourists. Therefore, welcoming many Indian tourists will bring "good profits" to travel companies.

*2020, 2021 data is not available due to the impact of Covid-19.

A report by Google and Bain & Company in 2021 showed the huge potential of Indian tourists. In 2018 alone, Indians took about two billion trips (both domestic and international) and spent about $94 billion on travel, accommodation, and shopping.

According to the Nation Master statistics platform, in 2019, India ranked 13th globally in terms of international tourism spending with about 28.5 billion USD. According to the 2020 report of the World Tourism Organization, international tourism spending by Indian tourists could reach 45 billion USD by 2025 and 91 billion USD by 2030.

In 2020, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism also published a study showing that Indian tourists are a potential market. One of the reasons given is good spending power. On average, the spending of an Indian tourist staying overnight at an accommodation facility is about 1,200 USD - higher than the average of Asian tourists to Vietnam (about 995.7 USD). The spending structure includes a number of items such as room rental (37.61%), food and drink (24.42%), travel (14.71%), shopping (13.03%), sightseeing and entertainment (7.05%).

According to the travel industry, the biggest problem is that Vietnam has not yet exempted visas for Indian tourists. Ms. Trang said that Indian tourists have the habit of traveling spontaneously and booking services close to the date, usually only booking 10-15 days in advance, sometimes "taking a break at the beginning of the week and going on the weekend". If visa exemption is granted, the cost of their trip will be reduced by about 25 USD and their time will be much more comfortable, helping to stimulate demand for tourism to Vietnam from this country of a billion people.

The main types of customers from India include family customers (usually one or two families booking their own tours); group customers; MICE customers (guests going to meetings, team building) or guests going abroad for weddings - a type of customer that is considered to have high spending power.

"Many travel companies are relying on Indian tourists to survive because this is an abundant source of customers," said Ms. Trang.

Due to the large population and diverse types of visitors, the travel trends of Indian tourists are also quite different. However, they have in common that they like to travel in a traditional way, want to find places to eat and play, and like to go to magnificent buildings and large shopping centers.

Vietluxtour, a unit specializing in exploiting Indian business travelers, pointed out some favorite destinations of this group are Da Nang, Ha Long (Quang Ninh) and some other famous coastal cities.

Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, Director of Travel Communications of Vietluxtour, commented that Indian tourists have "many requirements for service, demanding perfection in every detail". Their living habits and beliefs also need attention to serve them most thoughtfully.

A representative of a travel agency said that Indian tourists are the "most demanding" when it comes to food. They can only eat Indian food, some are vegetarian but it has to be "Indian vegetarian". If Vietnam focuses on the Indian market, it will need more Indian restaurants to cater specifically to their needs.

The wedding of a wealthy Indian in Phu Quoc in 2019. Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in India

The number of Indian restaurants in major cities has been gradually increasing recently. Even Sa Pa (Lao Cai) has a restaurant specializing in Indian cuisine. In Ho Chi Minh City, some high-end hotels have also started to have separate dining areas for Indians or hire private chefs to serve this group of guests. "This is a matter of supply and demand. If the demand is big enough, there will be supply," this person said.

In addition, to serve Indian customers well, it is necessary to understand their personalities. This group of customers is often flexible in terms of time, sometimes affecting schedules and service systems. They also do not "stick to one partner" if the price is not competitive.

However, "Indian tourists are a potential group for Vietnamese travel companies," this person affirmed.

Tu Nguyen

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/khach-an-mo-vang-cua-du-lich-viet-4617834.html