The function attracted many Vietnamese travel companies such as Saigontourist, Transviet, Indochina Travel, Vietmark, Victoria Tour and Emega, along with a number of Indian tour operators and media outlets.

Tran Quang Tuyen, an envoy of the Vietnamese Embassy in India, said Vietnam attracted 10 million foreign tourists in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 26 percent. 

He partly attributed the growth to the fact that Vietnam is home to many UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites and the country boasts a diverse culture, beautiful beaches, imposing mountains, and hospitable people.

Vietnam is able to satisfy all tourists who come here to enjoy leisure, go shopping, explore  local cuisine, organise weddings, or participate in business workshops, he said, adding that Indian travelers can visit well-preserved historical relic sites or Indian-style restaurants in many big cities of Vietnam.

The number of Indian tourists to Vietnam surged from 16,000 in 2010 to about 90,000 in 2016 and HCM City is one of the most attractive destinations for Indian holidaymakers as more than 51,500 Indians toured the southern city last year, Tuyen noted.

However, Indian visitors to Vietnam accounts for only 2-3 percent of the total number of Indian tourists to ASEAN countries and is much lower than the 20 million Indians going on overseas holidays each year, he added.

At the workshop, travel firms from HCM City introduced their best tourism products and fielded questions raised by participants.

Nguyen Tri Vien, Chief of the Office of the HCM City Tourism Department, said India is a potential market and the city’s enterprises are working to provide new and interesting tourism services to attract more Indian visitors.

Earlier, the HCM City delegation also attended the Outbound Travel Mart held in Mumbai city, where it introduced new tourism products and investment attraction policies of HCM City and Vietnam as well. 

VNA