Promoting cooperation between Phu Yen and India

Recently, Phu Yen and Indian business organizations have connected and cooperated to strengthen development ties, including in the tourism sector.

Potential customer market

According to the National Tourism Administration, in 2023, international visitors to Vietnam will reach 12.6 million, exceeding the initial target by 57%. Of these, the Indian market ranked fourth in the top 10 international visitor markets, behind South Korea, China and Thailand.

Although only ranked fourth, data analysis shows that India is the strongest growing market, showing the highest signs of recovery compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, with a growth rate of 231%.

Most recently, statistics for the first quarter of 2024 from the National Tourism Administration showed that in the first 3 months of the year, there were 116,000 Indian visitors to Vietnam, reaching 304% compared to before the pandemic. This is an impressive growth figure for this very potential international tourist market.

According to the Indian newspaper - Telegraph India, the factors that make tourists in this country of more than 1.4 billion people choose Vietnam for travel are delicious food, beautiful nature, many heritages and reasonable costs. In particular, the financial factor, based on the exchange rate between Indian rupee and Vietnamese currency, a trip will not be too expensive.

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Le Vu introduced the potential and strengths of Phu Yen tourism to Indian businesses. Photo: TRAN QUOI

Connect, collaborate

With such a potential tourist market, the Vietnamese tourism industry and many localities, including Phu Yen, want to connect and cooperate.

The international cooperation relationship between Phu Yen and India has recently been promoted by many active exchanges between the two sides.

In June 2023, Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Madan Mohan Sethi paid a courtesy visit to the leaders of the Provincial People's Committee. To concretize this friendly relationship, on the occasion of the 2nd Namaste Vietnam - Hello Vietnam festival organized by the Indian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City in August 2023, Mr. Madan Mohan Sethi and famous Indian tourism and travel businesses and artists had a meeting to connect and promote Phu Yen - India tourism in the coastal city of Tuy Hoa.

At the end of 2023, Phu Yen organized a working delegation led by Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ta Anh Tuan, along with leaders of departments, branches, and localities, in coordination with the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to organize the "India - Phu Yen Conference: Trade and Investment" in India.

In December 2023, Mr. Madan Mohan Sethi will return to Phu Yen to promote cooperation between the locality and Indian partner businesses. On this occasion, Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Madan Mohan Sethi visited, interacted with students and inaugurated the "India Corner" at Luong Van Chanh High School for the Gifted. Mr. Madan Mohan Sethi also sent an invitation, expressing his wish that in 2024, a delegation of students from Luong Van Chanh High School for the Gifted will visit schools in India to better understand the lives of Indian people, connecting the young generations of the two countries.

Previously, in the Cinema with Phu Yen program organized by the Provincial People's Committee and the Vietnam Cinema Promotion and Development Association, Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Madan Mohan Sethi was also very enthusiastic in connecting Indian filmmakers to the land of yellow flowers and green grass.

In April 2024, Mr. Madan Mohan Sethi and Indian film producer Rahul Bali returned to Phu Yen to visit and work, promoting coordination and support for the production of an India-Vietnam cooperation film with many scenes filmed in Phu Yen.

And most recently, a delegation of Indian businesses, led by Mr. Prasant Satapathy, Vice President of AnaBazaar Afghanistan Technology Services Company, and 8 members who are leaders of companies and businesses specializing in seafood processing, food, tourism, media... had a direct working session with departments, branches and businesses of Phu Yen to concretize the cooperative relationship.

The Indian business delegation took souvenir photos with representatives of departments, branches and businesses of Phu Yen after the working session to concretize the cooperative relationship. Photo: TRAN QUOI

Movies, travel and more

Initial information from the film producer Rahul Bali said: “Love in Vietnam” is a sweet, happy story between an Indian boy and a Vietnamese girl with many scenes shot in different locations in Vietnam. The film is based on the best-selling Turkish classic “Love Called Madonna In A Fur Coat”. This is an unforgettable story about love, sacrifice, new beginnings, as well as discovering the good and interesting things in the human soul.

According to Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Madan Mohan Sethi, Phu Yen in particular and Vietnam in general are becoming attractive destinations and markets for Indian investors in many fields, including tourism and cinema. “India has a long-standing and prestigious cinema industry in the world.

“Love for Vietnam”, which will soon start filming in Phu Yen, is the first film jointly produced by India and Vietnam. It will be the starting point for a wonderful cinematic relationship between the two countries; an opportunity for the image of Phu Yen to spread and reach out to international audiences. This is also a way to introduce and promote tourism,” said Madan Mohan Sethi.

Regarding tourism cooperation, Phu Yen and India have begun to have connections between companies. Mr. Dam Dai Huu, Director of Dai Huu Travel Company Limited, said that since signing the cooperation agreement (August 2023) with Axis Holidays Pvt Ltd (India), the two sides have regularly contacted, provided information on tourism, new products and services of the unit, built new tours, new routes, new products connecting localities to suit the needs of tourists.

“We form small groups to regularly exchange cooperation work and pick up and drop off guests. The current limitation of Phu Yen that is not attractive to partners from India is that the technical infrastructure is still weak and the night-time economy is not yet available,” Mr. Huu added.

Mr. Prasant Satapathy, Vice President of AnaBazaar Technology Services Company and businesses expressed their desire to further develop bilateral cooperation. Some areas that Indian businesses are interested in are: Cultural tourism, seafood processing, high-tech agriculture, etc.

“We have quite interesting similarities with Phu Yen in terms of geography, sea, and even culture and religion. We wish to cooperate in developing a cultural center in Tuy Hoa City near the Nhan Tower relic, creating a place to introduce and exchange culture to serve international tourists,” Mr. Prasant Satapathy raised the issue.

TRAN QUO I

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