Ho Chi Minh City puts best foot forward at New Delhi travel and tourism trade show.
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More than 65,000 Indian tourists came to the city and adjacent localities in 2017, a rise of 10% year-on-year, putting India among the top 15 markets with the largest number of visitors to Ho Chi Minh City, according to a Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism report.
Vu voiced his belief that Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City will see a surge of Indian tourists in the coming years. The city is now working to put up more Indian restaurants and quality accommodations to serve this market in the expectation of a three- or four-fold increase in the number of Indian tourists to the city once a direct air route between Ho Chi Minh City and New Delhi opens.
The booths of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and various Vietnamese travel firms attracted large numbers of visitors at the SATTE 2018 in New Delhi.
The event offered opportunities for Vietnam to introduce the country as a friendly destination while bolstering the friendship between Vietnam and India--and Ho Chi Minh City in particular--through tourism cooperation.
India is among six new countries eligible for e-visa to Vietnam. Vietnam has extended its e-visa application scheme for visitors from six more countries, including major tourism markets Australia and India, raising the list of beneficiaries to 46. Under the program, tourists will be able to apply online for 30-day, single-entry e-visas by paying a non-refundable application fee online.
With the new system, as well as visa waiver policies for various big markets in Asia and Europe, the tourism industry hopes to welcome 17-20 million foreign visitors and earn US$35 billion per year by 2020, contributing 10% to the country’s gross domestic product, compared to the current 7.5%, according to General Statistics Office Of Vietnam report.
