Indian tourists visit the Central Post Office in HCM City last year. —VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Việt Nam can maximise the growing influx of Indian tourists by understanding their preferences and adopting targeted marketing strategies, a RMIT academic said.

Việt Nam enjoyed robust growth of Indian tourists in 2024 and is expected to continue to experience a boom this year, according to the Việt Nam National Authority of Tourism.

The number of Indian tourists visiting Việt Nam has increased steadily from 138,000 in 2022 to 501,000 last year.

India is now among Việt Nam’s ten largest sources of international visitors.

Adhvaidha Kalidasan, lecturer at RMIT Vietnam’s School of Communication & Design, said there has been a noticeable influx of Indian tourists to Việt Nam.

Understanding this demographic while recognising Việt Nam’s own strengths is crucial in leveraging this opportunity, Kalidasan said.

Among these travellers, there has been a rise in those with an entrepreneurial mindset, as well as female tourists, she said.

Factors such as convenient visa policies, short travel time, budget-friendly services, direct flight options, and Indian restaurants are identified as key drivers of this trend, she said.

Local airlines such as VietJet and Vietnam Airlines, along with the Indian airline IndiGo, have started operating regular flights between various cities in both countries. Previously, only less frequent seasonal flights were available.

Improved accessibility is fueling opportunities for creative marketing strategies, she said.

In January 2025, VietJet announced free hot air balloon rides for customers booking direct or connecting flights with the airline as part of India’s largest hot air balloon festival in Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state.

As efforts to attract Indian tourists continue, it is crucial to understand their travel behaviours. Purpose-driven tourism is one of the many emerging travel trends among Indian tourists, as highlighted in a recent Times of India article. Purpose-driven tourism services can create more opportunities for Vietnamese youth across various sectors.

A 2023 McKinsey report suggests that business tourism is one of the most strategic ways to attract Indian tourists. Meanwhile, Việt Nam’s Tourism Marketing Strategy for 2030 aims to prepare the country for diverse forms of tourism, including MICE tourism, educational tourism, beauty tourism, industrial tourism, and sports tourism.

She suggests that Vietnamese entrepreneurs can develop unique marketing strategies to cater to business-minded tourists.

Entrepreneurs in Việt Nam can keep their businesses open for visits and informal coffee chats, rather than focusing on sales. This openness can enhance the visibility of their services or organisations.

Vietnamese businesses can also target female travellers, she said.

A 2023 Fortune India article said that women account for nearly 30 percent of the international travel market. Indian women travellers are financially and socially independent and seek diverse experiences at their destinations.

Data from Google Destination Insights reveals that the number of international searches for tourist accommodation in Việt Nam between November 2024 and January 2025 rose by 15-30 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In the first half of February this year, the number of international searches continued to increase by 30-45 per cent.

The US topped the list of ten countries with the highest number of searches for Vietnamese destinations, followed by Australia, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the UK, Canada, Germany, and Malaysia.

This confirms that besides key markets Việt Nam is increasingly attracting attention from India. — VNS