Indian businesses appreciate Vietnam's destinations

More than 150 delegates from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Embassy of India in Hanoi, representatives of the Ministry of Tourism of several ASEAN countries, a delegation of Indian tourism businesses surveying tourist destinations in Vietnam, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of several localities, travel agencies, hotels and airlines of Vietnam participated in the Vietnam-India Tourism and Aviation Cooperation Conference, which took place on November 29 in Hanoi.

Deputy Minister Ho Anh Tuan and Indian businesses at the Conference

At the Conference, opinions from Vietnamese businesses that are directly welcoming Indian tourists and opinions from Indian tourism businesses that have just conducted a survey across Vietnam have clarified the difficulties and advantages in bringing Indian tourists to Vietnam and Vietnamese tourists to India. Businesses from both sides said: The main difficulty is the lack of direct flights between Vietnam and India, previously it took 14-15 hours to get there. Airfares between the two countries are equivalent to the fares from Vietnam to Europe. Visa procedures to Vietnam are still complicated. In particular, the Indian market lacks information about destinations in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Indian businesses highly appreciate Vietnam's tourism landscape. The beauty of Ha Long Bay, one of the destinations the delegation visited, is rare in the world. However, it is necessary to upgrade the infrastructure and accommodation facilities in Ha Long Bay to attract more Indian tourists.

In particular, it is necessary to focus on MICE tourism (conferences, seminars, incentives combined with tourism) and build more 5-star luxury resorts. Indian restaurant systems also need to be built to serve the dietary habits of Indians. Currently, only Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have a few Indian restaurants, but in general, famous destinations such as Ha Long, Nha Trang, Da Nang, etc. do not have any.

Attending the conference, Deputy Minister Ho Anh Tuan answered further questions from businesses and said that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has officially proposed to the Government to remove visas for tourists from the Indian market. In the coming time, the promotion and marketing activities to the Indian market need to be carried out more professionally, systematically and with focus and key points. In particular, Vietnam and India need to soon sign a tourism cooperation agreement; continue to increase the exchange of cultural, economic and tourism delegations between the two countries.

In December 2014, Vietnam will continue to welcome a delegation of 15-20 Indian tourism businesses to conduct surveys, while India will invite a delegation of Vietnamese tourism businesses to conduct surveys in this country. "Inviting Bollywood film crews and Indian entertainment stars to Vietnam will not wait until 2016 as in the Plan to promote and advertise Vietnamese tourism in the Indian market 2015-2020 but will be implemented in 2015", said Deputy Minister Ho Anh Tuan.

According to VH