Vietnam increasingly attractive to Indian tourists

First time to welcome such a large group of Indian tourists

According to the schedule, the Indian tourist group is divided into six to seven small groups to stay in Hanoi for four days and then visit Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh). The main attractions include famous places like President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Hoa Lo Prison, and the Temple of Literature.

Indian tourists in Quang Ninh - photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper

The Indian visitors have high spending levels and also require high standards. Services must be arranged at 4-5 star hotels; the accommodation system and restaurants must meet standards.

Food and drink are given special attention to due to specific cultural and religious requirements. Some hotels have hired chefs specializing in Indian cuisine to cook Indian popular dishes. Meanwhile, Vietnamese dishes, such as pho, fish noodle soup, fried fish, and desserts made from Vong village green rice have also been introduced to tourists.

To welcome the Indian visitors, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) has supported and coordinated with agencies, departments, and businesses to ensure their safe and smooth arrivals, which also affirms Vietnam’s position as an attractive destination, especially amid the growing trend of Indian tourists coming to the country.

India is considered one of Vietnam’s key tourism markets. In the first seven months of this year, Vietnam welcomed more than 10 million international visitors. Of those, more than 271,000 were Indian visitors, a year on year increase of 127 percent.

Particularly for Quang Ninh Province, India has been identified as one of its potential international markets and Ha Long Bay and other destinations are also among destinations that capture the Indian tourists’ attention. A representative of the Quang Ninh Department of Tourism said that this is the largest Indian tourist group ever to visit Ha Long Bay - a premise for a larger number of tourists to the province in the coming time.

Tourists in Hanoi Photo: Hai Nam

The “golden mine” of Vietnamese tourism industry

Indian tourists are among the highest spenders in the world for each trip abroad. With a population of 1.4 billion, India is a potential market that every country wants to attract. According to CNN’s forecast, the number of Indian tourists traveling abroad will fully recover this year and is going to reach 28.5 million in 2025. The travel website Agoda predicts that India could rank among the top markets for outbound travel in the coming years.

As the distance between Vietnam and India is not too far, and recently there have been direct flight routes connecting the two countries, it only takes about 4-5 hours for Indian tourists to arrive in Vietnam. However, Indian tourists are quite demanding and their different needs affected by cultural features will be a challenge for the Vietnamese tourism industry. Other factors, such as security, safety, and suitable food also affect Indian customers when making travel decisions.

Meanwhile, Vietnam still lacks Halal-certified restaurants (under the requirements of the Islamic law) to serve Indian and Muslim customers. There is also a lack of hotels with prayer rooms or hotel rooms with Qibla arrows (an arrow indicating the direction of prayer, which is very important in Islamic beliefs).