Indian visitors to Vietnam increase at least 1,000% this year

The leader of the Agoda booking application pointed out that more and more Indian tourists are flocking to Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.

Southeast Asia is the top destination for Indian tourists before and after the pandemic. "We are seeing more and more Indian tourists coming to Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia. The number of Indian tourists coming to Vietnam is expected to increase by at least 1,000% compared to before the pandemic," said Omri Morgenshtern, CEO of the hotel booking app Agoda.

Tourists stroll along the riverside in Hoi An ancient town. This is also a popular destination for Indian tourists. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

Agoda says Indians are increasingly travelling to more diverse countries rather than sticking to the same popular destinations as other markets. France and Switzerland are the most popular destinations in Europe, but they are not among the top 10 favourites for Indians. Before the pandemic, people from this South Asian country preferred to go to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Not many Indian tourists visit Northeast Asian countries like Japan and South Korea because they are remote and less known. "When we talk to (Northeast Asian) tourism agencies, they recognize India as a growing power and they all have plans to welcome tourists. But when it comes to promoting destinations to Indian tourists, they are just starting," Morgenshtern said.

As of late April, India's population surpassed China's to become the world's most populous country, according to United Nations data, with more than 1.425 billion people. All eyes are on the South Asian superpower's growing influence on the world stage, and tourism is no exception.

By 2024, Indians are expected to spend more than $42 billion a year on international travel. Omri Morgenshtern says India is “exploding” in tourism, with “the largest growing international tourist arrivals country” and “no other country’s tourism industry is growing as fast as India’s.” This growth is not just about the number of people traveling. The country is pouring billions of dollars into developing its aviation industry, cementing its position as a tourism hub.

The Indian government announced earlier this year a plan to spend 980 billion rupees ($11.9 billion) by 2025 to build and modernize domestic airports. Noida International Airport in Uttar Pradesh state, which opens in 2024, is expected to become the largest airport in Asia.

Gary Bowerman, founder of Check-in Asia, a travel research and marketing firm, said the policies the country has implemented are starting to pay off. “There are more airports, more terminals, more infrastructure than 10 years ago,” Bowerman said.

Morgenshtern said the rise in the outbound market (Indians traveling internationally) was the result of investment not only by the government but also by private airlines. India has many low-cost carriers competing with each other, offering people good prices.

To attract more Indian tourists, Morgenshtern suggests that countries should ease visa restrictions and increase flights from India. “When these two things happen, it will work wonders in a growing market like India,” Morgenshtern said.

While China’s outbound market has skyrocketed in the past two decades, India’s boom has come later. Before the pandemic, China was Southeast Asia’s largest international tourist market. In 2019, Southeast Asian countries welcomed 32.3 million visitors from China, but only 5.3 million from India. Bowerman said the tourism industry in the region is taking new steps to reduce its dependence on the Chinese market. They have been looking for alternative markets, and that’s good news for India. But if India hopes to overtake China in the international tourist market, Bowerman believes it will take 20 years. “You can’t catch up in a short period of time,” Bowerman said.

Anh Minh (According to CNN )

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