Figures from the Vietnam National Tourism Administration show that our country welcomed nearly 395,000 Indian visitors in the first 10 months of the year, an increase of nearly 30% over the same period last year.
Recently, the Economic Times of India commented that: Vietnam is a “unique” destination that is attracting the attention of Indians. This article also provides a very impressive figure: The number of Vietnam travel bookings by some Indian travel companies this year has increased by 500% compared to 2019.
At the end of August, an Indian billionaire brought 4,500 employees to Vietnam for a conference and tour. The group visited famous places in Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh, Hanoi and stayed at the most luxurious hotels in Hanoi.
“Today is our first day in Hanoi. Tomorrow we plan to go to Ninh Binh and then Ha Long Bay,” said Akhila, an Indian tourist.
“Your country is very beautiful, the people are friendly. We want to explore more, enjoy more in Vietnam,” said Indian tourist Goutam Sarkar.
According to data from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Vietnam welcomed nearly 395,000 Indian visitors in the first 10 months of the year, an increase of nearly 30% over the same period last year. Experts say the sharp increase in the number of tourists from India to Vietnam is due to improved flight connectivity, smooth travel thanks to e-visas and the impact of social media. In addition, it is the ability of Vietnamese tourism to “always listen, always understand”, as visitors from this billion-people market are not easy to please.
Avoiding beef, pork, not eating eggs, only eating vegetables processed by specific methods are some of the requests of Indian tourists when coming to Vietnam. Currently, travel companies are also planning to build tours to meet these needs and many other requests of Indian tourists.
Mr. Hoang Phung Hieu, Director of Vietglobal Travel Company said: “High-end customers aim for high-end services such as 5-star hotel systems, and they also pay close attention to their menus. Therefore, Vietnamese travel companies are also collaborating with many Indian restaurants in Vietnam to combine a perfect tour to serve this high-end customer group.”
In addition to cuisine, the tourist “taste” of visitors from South Asia is said to not only love to admire beautiful natural landscapes, but also want to learn about culture, heritage, or even spiritual tourism . This is something that travel agencies or tourism localities must meet.
Ms. Dang Huong Giang, Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism said: “We build products to attract visitors, with cultural resources, heritage values. For 2024, we have also been very well prepared, travel agencies and businesses have also built very typical tourism products of Hanoi”.
“Resort tourism programs are also of great interest to tourists from some emerging markets. For example, Japanese, Indian and some tourists from the Middle East also love to travel to Phu Quoc, Da Nang and Mui Ne, Nha Trang in Vietnam,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Tai, Director of Vietsense Travel.
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Looking back, the number of Indian tourists to Vietnam in the first 10 months of this year has exceeded the total number of Indian tourists to our country in the whole year of 2023. This shows the interest of Indian tourists in Vietnam tourism. The potential is visible, the task of Vietnamese tourism now is to exploit this market of 1.4 billion people.
Increased spending by international tourists to Vietnam
India is in the top 10 markets sending the most visitors to Vietnam in the past 10 months. India ranked 7th, the leading market is still the Korean market with 3.7 million visitors, followed by China, Taiwan (China), the US, Japan…
Looking back over the past 10 months, our country has welcomed more than 14 million international visitors, an increase of more than 41% over the same period last year. This number will certainly increase even faster as the international tourist season has begun since October, and will last until April next year.
One of the advantages of Vietnam tourism is reasonable costs. A travel agency – BestPrice Company has just announced the cost of travel in 4 Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Accordingly, Vietnam has emerged as the most competitive cost destination for long-term travel. Specifically, for short trips of 7-10 days, Vietnam has a competitive cost advantage with the lowest price, only 859 USD, nearly 22 million VND, while Thailand leads at 1,354 USD, nearly 35 million VND, which is 1.5 times higher. For trips longer than 15 days, the cost in Laos increases significantly, reaching 3,823 USD, equivalent to 97 million VND.
According to tourism experts, Vietnam can take advantage of this. However, it should not be positioned as a “cheap destination”. Because the highest goal of this smokeless industry is not “how many people come”, but “how much tourists spend” and “how long they stay”. Many solutions have been proposed to achieve this goal. For example, increasing the experience for tourists or promoting night tourism activities.
The Danish tourists who came to Vietnam for the first time said they might return next year because of the many interesting experiences they had in Hanoi. When tourists are satisfied, they also do not hesitate to spend money at the destination.
Anton Holmstad and Andreas Raahauge Pedersen, Danish tourists, shared: “So far, we have spent about 1,500 USD. We will spend more in the next few days. This is my first time traveling to Vietnam so I am very excited.”
“We don’t remember how much money we spent during our 12 days in Vietnam. It was probably around 700 euros or more for food, accommodation and trekking in Sapa,” said French tourists Remi Barbieri and Estelle Barbieri.
There are many activities during the day, but night activities need to be promoted more. If the day is the time for sightseeing and experiencing, then the night is the time for tourists to eat and shop. Travel companies now also include night activities in their tour programs.
Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director, BestPrice Travel Company said: “Go on food tours in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or tours called night food tours on cruises in Ho Chi Minh City. At night, customers want to relax more and they are willing to spend money to satisfy their passion.”
A representative of the Vietnam Tourism Association said that having tourism products and services and night entertainment will increase the length of stay of tourists, thereby promoting tourist spending, and at the same time increasing the chances that tourists will return to Vietnam in the future.
“When we have increased the length of stay of tourists, tourism revenue will certainly increase, and if we develop the night-time economy, we will clearly increase tourist spending by 150 to 200 percent,” said Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan, Head of Communications, Vietnam Tourism Association.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has a Project on Some Models for Developing Night Tourism Products . In which, 12 destinations are selected to set a target that from next year – 2025, there must be at least one model for developing night tourism products. In addition, separate night entertainment complexes are formed in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.