South-central Vietnam seeks to attract Indian tourists

The event was co-organised by the Khanh Hoa provincial Department of Tourism in collaboration with the Indian Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.

A number of trade exchange meetings and Famtrip programmes were held to help Indian businesses gain greater insights into local tourism products.

Addressing the event, Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, director of the provincial Tourism Department, emphasised that Khanh Hoa is home to 1,147 accommodation facilities with more than 52,000 rooms. It also boasts strengths in various types of tourism, including entertainment, ecology, community, spiritual culture, and adventure.

This year the local tourism industry is striving to attract 11 million visitors, including five million international arrivals, she noted.

At present, international air routes have been gradually restored and expanded from markets such as as the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Thailand, a move which has significantly contributed to the rebound in the number of foreign tourists visiting Khanh Hoa province in general and its Nha Trang city in particular.

However, several major markets such as Russia and China have yet to bounce back, forcing the local tourism industry to seek other alternative markets, including India.

India is widely considered a potential tourism market as it has the second largest population in the world and has enjoyed rapid economic growth whilst Indian citizens have an increasingly high demand for international travel.

Modan Mahan Sethi, consulate general of India in Ho Chi Minh City, expressed his hope that following the conference, both Indian and Vietnamese travel firms could connect and promote two-way tourism linkages.

Representatives of neighbouring provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Binh Thuan, and Ninh Thuan also introduced a wide range of tourism products to the Indian market at the event.