HÀ NỘI —Vietnamese and Indian tourism enterprises met in Hà Nội at a conference on Tuesday to enhance co-operation in the field.

The conference is part of events to celebrate 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Addressing the conference, Pavathaneni Harish, Indian ambassador to Việt Nam noted that Việt Nam had become a more popular destination for Indian tourists while India wanted to attract more Vietnamese visitors.

“The two countries share various similarities in culture and have supported each other much in the process of fighting for independence and building up the country,” he said.

“It’s time for us to promote partnership relations to develop tourism,” he added.

The Indian government has approved the use of e-visas for many countries, including Việt Nam. The ambassador hoped with the convenient visa procedure, more Vietnamese people will visit India.

According to India’s Tourism Ministry, in the past few years, the number of visitors from India to Việt Nam has considerably increased, from 33,000 in 2010 to 85,000 in 2016, an average increase of 17 per cent per year, he said.

In 2016 alone, the number of Indian tourists to Việt Nam increased 30 per cent against 2015.

However, in 2016, the number of Indian tourists to Việt Nam accounted for only 3 per cent of the total two million Indian tourists to ASEAN countries, the ambassador said.

“The number is small while Việt Nam is rich in tourism potential,” said Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hương, deputy director of Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), “That’s why we should enhance our co-operation in tourism.”

“In order to attract more Indian tourists, Việt Nam has conducted various promotional activities in India in recent years,” she said, “Market research activities in India have been focused; promotional plans have been deployed in various forms; fairs and exhibitions, tours for press agencies and tourism companies have been organised, as have roadshows and co-operation conferences in aviation and cinema. The VNAT has received film crews to Việt Nam, exchanged delegations to share experiences in making new tourism products.”

In the near future, besides traditional promotion channels, the VNAT will promote e-marketing, develop co-operation with airlines to open new direct flights and hold exchanges between tourism enterprises, filmmakers and media firms of the two countries, she said.

At the same event, the VNAT advertised tourism sites to Indian tourism firms while some Indian travel agencies also presented their facilities.

Anuj Kumar, managing director of Magadh Travels & Tours Pvt Ltd told Việt Nam News that his company brings Vietnamese on Buddhist pilgrimage tours to India and Nepal.

“For the past one or two years, demand for visiting Việt Nam has increased among Indian people,” he said, “They mostly choose to visit HCM City and Hạ Long Bay. We are introducing them to new products.”

He added that the number of guests from Việt Nam to India is about 20,000 a year.

“Flight connectivity is a big problem at the moment,” he said.

Amit Singh, director of sales at Shashi Travels & Tours Pvt. Ltd, said his company was proud to be the first Indian tourism company in the Hà Nội market and is happy to see more and more companies enter.

The company has offered hotels and transportation inside India and international charter flights.

“We are trying out best at this event to set up more co-operation,” he said. — VNS