HCMC – Tourism ties between Vietnam and India are expected to grow strongly as tourist exchanges between the two countries have increased significantly after the fourth wave of the Covid pandemic.
Internet searches for Vietnamese tourism from the Indian market had shot up 400% in the year to April and are forecast to continue rising, according to Google’s market trend tracking tool.
Previously, 2019 saw 170,000 Indians traveling to Vietnam, pushing India to the 16th spot among those with the most visitors to Vietnam.
In the same year, 50,000 Vietnamese visited India.
Recently, Vietnam and India have introduced many tourism activities to attract international tourists such as applying the e-visa policy and simple entry procedures, vaccine passport recognition, and 60 weekly direct flights between the two countries.
At the Vietnam-India Tourism Promotion Conference held on August 17, Pranay Verma, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam, said that tourism helps boost the relationship between the two countries.
The travel demands of Indians are high now after pandemic restrictions.
Pham Van Thuy, deputy director general of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said Vietnam and India had a strong bond and shared many cultural and historical similarities.
Thuy suggested the National Tourism Authority of India and the diplomatic mission of India in Vietnam closely coordinate with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and authorities concerned to ease visa procedures and Covid-19 prevention for tourists.
The tourism businesses of the two countries are encouraged to jointly cooperate, overcome difficulties and exchange customers, he added.