The Embassy of the S.R. of Vietnam, in association with OM Tourism, recently organized a Vietnam Tourism Roadshow in Delhi. Led by Nguyen Van Tuan, Chairman, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the delegation comprised of top tour agents of Vietnam who interacted with their Indian counterparts and media. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, also attended the event.
In the welcoming speech, Minister – Deputy Chief of Mission Tran Quang Tuyen highlighted the special relationship between Vietnam and India. He welcomed the visit of Chairman VNAT and numerous Vietnamese travel agents to India as the visit happened when both India and Vietnam look to enhance tourism, a vehicle to promote person to person contact and facilitate trade and investment cooperation. The potential for tourism between India and Vietnam is still untapped as on a basis of 2.5 million of Indian tourists visited South East Asia last year, only 50,000 Indian travelers reached Vietnam.
Speaking on the occasion, Nguyen Van Tuan thanked the Ministry of Tourism of India for inviting the delegation of VNAT to come to visit India. The visit permitted the delegation to admire and understand the richness and immeasurable value heritages of India. He affirmed, as India left a deep impression to the delegation, Vietnam will surprise every traveler for its beauty and friendly environment.
Billa affirmed that as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are the favourite destinations for Indian tourists, they should also visit Vietnam, which is close by. He recognized roadshow is an efficient tool to promote tourism. However as India is a big country, only roadshow in Delhi is not sufficient and Vietnam has to promote tourism in other states of India. At the same time, the Ministry of Tourism of India will organize roadshows to promote India and the holy sites as Bodh Gaya in Vietnam. “Tourism is a trillion dollar economy and it provides jobs to one billion people around the world. Certainly, Vietnam and India can’t lose this opportunity,” he added.
A thorough presentation was also made at the event by a VNAT representative on the excellent tourist infrastructure, products, services of Vietnam. Some Indian participants who have visited Vietnam also made comments that Vietnam is a must-see destination for Indian tourists.
