Quang Ninh diversifying tourism products and markets
A wealthy Indian couple's decision to choose Ha Long city, the northern province of Quang Ninh, home to UNESCO-recognised Ha Long Bay, for their three-day wedding has reflected the efforts taken by the locality to diversify its tourism products and markets.
The wedding of Indian billionaire groom Vivek Dinodiya, Director of PL Global Impex Pte Ltd, and bride Anmol Garg, held from February 16 to 18, hosted hundreds of guests, including Indian government officials, representatives from the Indian Embassy in Vietnam, and prominent entrepreneurs from India and Southeast Asian countries.
Chairman of the Ha Long city People’s Committee Nguyen Tien Dung on February 18 evening came to present a gift to the couple.
This is the second time Ha Long has been chosen by Indian billionaires as their preferred wedding venue. In February last year, another wealthy Indian groom Dhruv Taneja and his bride Shravya Bakliwal attracted over 400 guests.
Quang Ninh is working to attract holidaymakers from India, home to over 1.4 billion people, and Muslim-majority countries with more than 1.7 billion Muslims, representing nearly a quarter of the world's population.
With close to 300 million Muslims, Southeast Asia is seen as a promising market for tourism in Quang Ninh.
Nguyen Huyen Anh, Deputy Director in charge of the Provincial Department of Tourism, said to lure Muslim visitors, Quang Ninh needs to have good infrastructure suitable to their habits and Halal-certified products, and invite Muslim experts to train its tourism workers.
In 2023, the province welcomed many Muslim delegations from India, organised a workshop to seek solutions to attract Muslim tourists, and encouraged lodging facilities to upgrade their infrastructure to serve these tourists.
It expects to welcome about 17 million tourists this year, including at least 3 million international arrivals.
