Outlook from the Indian tourist market

Recently, Khanh Hoa province has been promoting, advertising and connecting exploitation of the Indian tourist market. Although, with a population of over 1.4 billion people, this is a very potential market, there is still much work to be done to exploit this market effectively.

Potential market

On August 19, the Provincial People's Committee coordinated with the Indian Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City to hold a conference on Indian tourism promotion in the South Central provinces. Speaking at the conference, Mr. Bhati - representative of the Indian Ministry of Tourism said: "After the Covid-19 pandemic, Indians have changed their travel habits. Statistics show that the Indian demand for travel to visa-easy and near destinations has increased by 30-35% per month. That is a signal for travel businesses in India to change their promotion policies, look for markets in a near-term, short-term and reasonable-price trend, and Vietnam is a destination that many people are interested in". Similarly, Mr. Rajeev Kale, representative of Thomas Cook travel agency (India) affirmed that Vietnam is receiving great attention in India. This is not only limited to corporate customers, but also families, young people and couples. "Nowadays, Indian tourists are more willing to switch to short, convenient and affordable destinations rather than choosing long-term tours with traditional destinations as before," said Rajeev Kale.

Indian tourists learn Cham brocade weaving techniques when visiting Ponagar Tower.

Before the Covid-19 epidemic, India ranked 16th among countries and territories with international visitors to Vietnam with nearly 200,000 visitors in 2019. Currently, with the open tourism policy, the Indian market has recovered very quickly. Mr. Pham Van Thuy - Deputy Director of the General Department of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) said: “In July 2022, 11,700 Indian visitors came to Vietnam; The potential of this market is still very large, it is important for the tourism sector to have a strategy to exploit effectively. The South Central Coast region has a location with very favorable natural and cultural conditions for tourism development. Especially, there are works and cultures of Champa and Sa Huynh with Indian characteristics, so it is easy to have interference and develop cultural tourism products. Sharing the same view, Mr. Pranay Verma - Indian Ambassador to Vietnam shared that only about 200,000 Indian visitors to Vietnam at the time when there was no Covid-19 epidemic is a modest number, which has not yet exploited potential of the two countries, so it is necessary to have cooperation agreements for sustainable tourism development.

Also on this occasion, from August 18 to 21, an Indian famtrip delegation consisting of representatives of about 30 travel companies (mainly from New Delhi) surveyed Khanh Hoa tourism. According to Mr. Phan Dinh Thao - General Director of HTS International Co., Ltd., the Indian famtrip group highly appreciated the potential of tourism cooperation between India and Khanh Hoa, especially spiritual tourism products. Currently, travel partners in Kolkata city (India) also want the company to organize more famtrips for them to visit Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa to survey tourism.

Many things to do at the same time

Vo Quang Hoang - Chairman of Khanh Hoa Hotel Association said that in order to exploit the Indian market, it is necessary to have a route connecting major Indian cities with Khanh Hoa, and charter flights can be organized in the immediate future. At the same time, businesses need to prepare human resources and adjust tourism products to suit the Indian market.

With the experience of welcoming Indian guests from 2018 up to now, Mr. Phan Dinh Thao said that Khanh Hoa must have a direct flight from India to Cam Ranh to avoid the tour cost overruns in addition to promotion activities. “Indian tourists are often very picky, even though they are long-time customers, they still go to many places and compare prices carefully before making a decision. Price is always the first factor that Indians consider when choosing a destination. A representative of a travel agency frankly told me that Nha Trang is not as famous as Bali (Indonesia), but the price is not cheaper. Therefore, we need to offer many product packages with different prices for them to choose from,” Thao shared.

Not only that, the Indian tourist market has its own characteristics, so businesses need to prepare psychologically in order not to be "disappointed". Indian visitors are often very free of time and sometimes affect related services, so it is necessary to plan more time to ensure the schedule. Their delegations always require Indian food in the tour program… When staying in hotels, there should also be a reasonable distribution to avoid cultural conflicts with tourists from other countries.

Talking to reporters, Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thanh - Director of the Department of Tourism shared that not only Khanh Hoa, but many localities have also promoted the Indian tourist market. To exploit this billion-people market well, it takes time and careful preparation with many solutions; including the promotion of opening a route from Cam Ranh to India. In the immediate future, Khanh Hoa tourism industry will make efforts to link with Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang (cities that already have direct flights to India) to bring the source of Indian tourists home.

XUAN THANH