Vietnam tourism to woo Indian tourists

Vietnam, for the first time, has added India to its group of potential visitor-generating markets to woo, an official said.

Hoang Thi Diep, deputy director general of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said that VNAT would conduct the first-ever market survey in India at the end of 2011.

“This is a large and potential market which should have been approached by now,” Diep said

According to Diep, though Indian visitors have been arriving in large numbers in neighbouring countries like Thailand or Singapore, the number of Indian tourists to Vietnam is small, mainly under MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) tourism instead of pure travel, and the number of Vietnamese tourist companies interested in this market is also insignificant.

She said the Indian market is attractive but hard to exploit because Indians know little about Vietnam. High tour fees and a lack of direct flights also make it inconvenient for them to visit Vietnam as tourists have to transit in Singapore or Bangkok of Thailand, said the director of a HCM City-based travel firm.

“Therefore, direct flights are needed to develop the market, especially to lure travellers,” he said.

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, head of the Marketing Department of Saigontourist Travel Services, said that the Indian tourist market was harder to exploit than other markets.

The company explored the market and received some Indian tourists, mainly business visitors but the number grew sluggishly.

“There are a great number of problems about tour prices, flight routes, and food. It is very hard to find Indian restaurants in Vietnam and most Indian tourists cannot eat Vietnamese food,” she said.

Diep of VNAT said “the tourism industry took many issues into consideration before adding India to its potential market group.”

“There was so much work to be settled such as the lack of Indian restaurants. But first of all, the industry has to do some surveys on tourists’ need to prepare services and marketing,” she said.

Besides India, the industry’s major markets include Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America.  - TBKTSG

Tags: Indian tourists