Viet Nam viewed as attractive tourist destination for Indian arrivals

Indian billionaire Dilip Shanghvi is planning to bring 4,500 employees to Viet Nam for a holiday in late August. They will visit Ha Noi, Ninh Binh, and Ha Long Bay for nearly two weeks.

The guests are employees of the largest pharmaceuticals company in India, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, and are mainly Indians. Shanghvi, the group's billionaire founder, who is one of the wealthiest men in India, will also join the tour.

The arrangements for this trip were made three months in advance, and it is the first time that the travel agency has received such a large group.

A report from Mastercard's Economics Institute, titled Travel Trends 2024: Breaking Boundaries, said Indian outbound travel to Viet Nam skyrocketed by 248 percent compared to 2019 levels.

The report affirmed that the Indian tourism market is vibrant, especially the proportion of Indians travelling abroad has increased dramatically recently, in which Viet Nam has emerged as a popular international destination.

These emerging trends promise to benefit the tourism sector as India is expected to add nearly 20 million people to the middle class over the next five years, added the report.

According to the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, the nation received 392,000 Indian visitors in 2023, a 231 percent increase compared to 2019.

In the first half of this year, Viet Nam welcomed over 231,000 Indian visitors, a 164 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The Southeast Asian nation has many advantages to attract Indian guests, such as convenient connectivity, with only a 4-5 hour direct flight.

General Director of Viet Nam Airlines Le Hong Ha said, since the launch of direct flights between the two nations in June 2022, the national carrier has transported more than 240,000 passengers. The seat utilization ratio is always near 80 percent in 2024, 1.5 times higher than in 2022. This proves the growing travel demand of tourists and businessmen between the two countries.

In addition, Viet Nam has competitive service prices, about 10-15 percent cheaper than those in other countries in the region. Moreover, for many Indians, Viet Nam is still a new destination with diverse culture, cuisine, and rich natural resources which inspire them to explore.

This helps explain why the number of Indian visitors to Viet Nam has increased sharply in recent time, especially in places with rich tourism resources and high-quality infrastructure such as Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Ha Long, Ha Noi, and Ho Chi Minh City./.