Vietnam india tourism cooperation an assessment of status and potential

21
Vietnam-India Tourism Cooperation: An
Assessment of Status and Potential
Le Thi Thanh Huyen

Abstract
The tourism industry of Vietnam and India plays a relatively similar role for the
development of the country and holds a rather important position.Tourism cooperation
between Vietnam and India is a collaborative content that both sides have been interested
in, and are included in the agenda of discussions to find solutions to develop tourism
industry in Vietnam and India. However, the situation of tourism activities between
Vietnam and India is still very limited, much below their potential. The number of
tourists between the two countries is much smaller than that of in Southeast Asia
counterparts such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. There are many
obstacles and weaknesses in tourism activities from the both sides. Communication
and promotion activities for tourism between the two countries are inadequate. Besides,
the quality of tourism services and transport infrastructure is not good enough to
adapt. However, there is a bright spot that the growth rate of Vietnam-India tourism
continues to be maintained at a relatively high level in recent years. The potential of
tourism cooperation between the two countries is enormous due to the effective prospect
of economic cooperation in particular and bilateral relations in general. In order to
promote tourism activities, both countries need solutions to enhance information
and promotion for tourism products in particular and social environment of the two
countries in general, as well as improve the quality of tourism services.
Keywords: Vietnam, India, tourism, Tourism cooperation, FTS system.


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India-Vietnam Enhancing Partnership

Introduction
According to World Tourism Organization, “tourism comprises the activities of persons
traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one
consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes” (UNWTO). Tourism plays a big
role in the development of a country at both macro and micro levels; has a great influence
on other fields and activities of a country, from economic and trade development, helps
promote culture - society, or creating a country’s image and nation branding.
As for Vietnam and India, tourism acting as a natural and positive factor will
strongly promote deeply economic and trade cooperation. Although Vietnam has
been promoting the attraction of tourists from India, in fact, the number of Indian
tourists coming to Vietnam and Vietnamese visitors to India is very small compared
to other markets in the Asian region. Considering the potential, analysis in the
following section shows that tourism activities between the two countries are still
much below their potential. This paper will focus on answering 3 questions: What
is the status of tourism activities between Vietnam and India? How is tourism
potential between the two countries? What are advantages and blocks in tourism
development between Vietnam and India?
By the method of analyzing documents from oficial statistical agencies of India
and Vietnam, and consulting experts, the paper will look at the overall perspective
of tourism cooperation between both sides putting in bilateral relations between the
two countries. The tourism potential assessment is based on the analytical framework
of the Functioning Tourism System (FTS) proposed by A.Gunn (1988) and edited
by Shelby R. Herrin (2015).

Situation of Tourism Activities Between the Two Countries
Overview of Vietnam and India tourism
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Report (2018) explains that the
role and position of tourism for each country is quite similar. Important indicators,
such as total contribution of tourism and travel to the GDP of each country in 2017
was 9.4%; direct employment contributions of Vietnam and India were 4.7% and

5% respectively, total direct and indirect employment contributions were 7.6% and
8.0% respectively. Besides, predictive indicators by 2028, the total contributions to


Vietnam-India Tourism Cooperation: An Assessment of Status and Potential

335

GDP of Vietnam and India respectively would be 9.8% and 9.9%; its contribution
to total direct employment is expected 4.9% and 5.3%, and total direct and indirect
employment is expected to reach 8.0% and 8.4%; visitor exports is expected to reach
4.7% and 5.1%.
Specifically:
The direct contribution to GDP: In Vietnam, tourism and travel contributed 12,965.5
million USD, equivalent to 5.9% of GDP in 2017 and is expected to increase by
about 6.0% per annum each year (p.a) from 2018-2028, will reach about USD
24,59.6 million accounting for 6.2% of GDP by 2028. If including direct and indirect
contributions, this figure is USD 20,605.6 million accounting for 9.4% of GDP in
2017, and is expected to rise by about 6.1% p.a. in the period 2018-2028 and will
reach 39,643.1 million by 2028, accounting for 9.8% of GDP.
Meanwhile, in India: The contribution of tourism and travel directly to the national
GDP was 91.3 billion USD, equivalent to 3.7% of India’s GDP in 2017 and is
expected to rise by 7.1% p.a. and rise to 194.7 billion USD, accounting for 3.9% of
GDP in 2028. If including both direct and indirect contributions, this figure was
234 billion USD, accounting for 9.4% of GDP in 2017, and is expected to rise by
6.9% p.a. from 2018 to 2028 and will reach 492.2 billion USD by 2028, accounting
for 9.9% of the national GDP.
Employment contribution: In Vietnam, in 2017, tourism and travel created 2,467,500
jobs directly, equivalent to 4.6% of total employment.This number is forecasted to rise
by 1.5% per annum over the period 2018-2028, reaching 2,917,000 jobs, equivalent

to 4.9% of total employment by 2028. Including direct and indirect jobs, there were
4,061,000, accounts for 7.6% of total employment, forecasted to rise by about 1.5%
each year, to reach 4,790,000 jobs, accounting for 8% of total employment by 2028.
In India: in 2017, tourism and travel contributed directly to 26,148,000 jobs, equivalent
to 5.0% of total employment, this figure is expected to increase by 2.1% per year in
the period 2018-2028, and to reach 33,195,000 jobs equal 5.3% of total employment
by 2028. Including direct and indirect jobs, there were 41,622,500 jobs accounting for
8.0% of the total employment of the country. This is expected to rise about 2% each
year, reaching 52,279,000 jobs, accounting for 8.4% of the total employment by 2028.


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India-Vietnam Enhancing Partnership

Visitor exports: In Vietnam, tourism and travel achieved 8,837.4 million USD,
accounting for 4.0% of the total export value in 2017. This is expected to increase
by 6.4% annually from 2018-2028 and will reach 17,517.4 million USD by 2028
(accounting for 4.7% of total export value). In India, this figure was 27.3 billion
USD, accounting for 5.8% of total export value in 2017, it is expected to increase by
5.5% per annum from 2018-2028 and reach 50.9 billion USD by 2028 (accounting
for 5.1% of total export value).
Tourism investment: In Vietnam, in 2017, the Tourism and Travel sector attracted an
investment of US $ 5,138.9 million, accounting for 8.5% of the nation’s total investment.
This is expected to increase by 5% per annum over the next ten years. This is expected
to achive US $8,965.3 million, accounting for 7.7% of the total national investment by
2028. In India, in 2017, the figure of investment in Tourism and Travel industry was
US $ 41.6 billion, equivalent to 6.3% of the nation’s total investment, It is forecasted
to increase by 6.7% per annum over the next ten years and is estimated at US $85.2
billion, accounting for 6.1% of total national investment by 2028.

s
%

2014-2028

%

s

%

s

%

s

s

%

s

s

%

o

2014

182 066 0

46

367 238 0

93

1 963 500

37

4 088 500

77

165 080 0

48

96 452 7

10 0

2015

279 287 0

66

584 884 0 13 9

2 783 000

52

6 035 500

11 2

213 389 0

56

113 497 0

10 4

2016

207 798 0

46

410 008 0

91

1 959 500

36

4 003 000

73

184 811 0

45

121 565 0

99

2017

294 660 0

59

468 291 0

94

2 467 500

46

4 061 000

76

200 843 0

40

116 788 0

85

2028
o

564 968 0

62

900 944 0

98

2 917 000

49

4 790 000

80

398 107 0

47

203 748 0

77

o
2014

2 478 2

22

7 642 5

67

23 024 000

55

36 695 500

87

1 224 4

41

2 107 2

62

2015

2 668 3

2

8 309 4

63

23 454 500

60

37 315 000

87

1 249 3

42

2 264 1

60

2016

4 809 8

33

14 018 5

96

25 394 500

58

40 343 000

93

1 529 3

54

2 284 9

57

2017

5 943 3

37

15 239 6

94

26 148 000

50

41 622 500

80

1 777 1

58

2 706 1

63

2028
o

12 677 9

38

32 053 3

99

33 195 000

53

52 279 000

84

3 316 4

51

5 546 3

61

o ce:

-

/ o

o
-2018/

o o
2018

-

2018

//

o /-/

/

/

o

/ o o

-

Vietnam-India Tourism Cooperation: An Assessment of Status and Potential

1

337


338

India-Vietnam Enhancing Partnership

Current situation of tourism activities between the two countries
With the very significant figures of the tourism industry above, Vietnam and India
have obviously made progress and developments. In particular, the Vietnam and
India tourism cooperation has also achieved good results in the period from 2010
to 2016, the number of Indian tourists traveling to Vietnam increased by 3.5 times
(equivalent to 344%) from 16,000 arrivals in 2010 to more than 60,000 arrivals in
2015 and 82,000 arrivals in 2016. The trip length of Indian tourists in Vietnam is
about 8 days and expenditure is estimated about 914 USD/trip. Which are higher
than many other Asian travelers? Vietnam’s tourism sector is aiming to welcome
about 100,000 Indian tourists in the near future (Vietnam National Administration
of Tourism of 2017, VISTA 2018, Vnexpress 2018). In the same period, the number
of Vietnamese tourists to India increased 2.22 times, from 7,548 arrivals in 2010 to
16,728 arrivals in 2016. The average growth rate is about 10.5% from 2014 to 2016
(Ministry of Tourism - India, 2017).
A comparison of the purpose of travel, the data showed differences. In the
total of 16,728 Vietnamese visitors to India in 2016, there were 19.36% of travelers
for the professional and business activities, 71.41% were for leisure holiday and
recreation, 0.02% were for treatment, 4.27% were for the Indian diaspora. Other
reasons account for 4.94% (Ministry of Tourism - India, 2017). Meanwhile, the
number of Indian tourists coming to Vietnam for entertainment purposes accounts
for a modest proportion. The General Statistics Ofice of Vietnam stated that the
number of Indian tourists coming to Vietnam for work purposes is estimated at 57%,
following by leisure and entertainment with 33% and other purposes accounting
for less than 10% (GSO, 2018). In conclusion, the Indians to Vietnam are mostly
for work, while the Vietnamese travellers to India with the main purpose are leisure
holiday and recreation.
Indian tourists traveling to Vietnam tend to increase each year and vice versa.
The foundations of long-standing cultural and Buddhist interactions between the

two countries, and bilateral cooperation between the two sides growing strongly in
all areas reinforce this growing trend. In Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy
to 2020 and vision to 2030, issued in 2011, Vietnam has identified India as one of
Vietnam’s key tourist markets (Decision 2473/QD -TTg of the Prime Minister
of Vietnam on December 30, 2011). Vietnam and India signed the Government-


Vietnam-India Tourism Cooperation: An Assessment of Status and Potential

339

level Tourism Cooperation Agreement on January 8, 2001. The implementation of
the Agreement has been carried out in the last 5 years from 2013 with the close
cooperation and interest of the Vietnamese Embassy to India and the Indian Embassy
to Vietnam. The agenda of tourism cooperation has been prioritized for discussion
during the Indian President’s visit to Vietnam in September 2014 and the Vietnam
Prime Minister’s visit to India in October 2014.
The two governments have promoted policies to fully exploit the tourism
potential of Vietnam - India. In 2017, in Bhubaneswar, the Vietnamese Embassy
to India and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism joined the Vietnam
Visa Service Department, deployed by VFS Global Group. Thus, Indian citizens
can easily apply for a visa to Vietnam quickly in their local area, without directly
visiting Vietnamese representative ofices in New Delhi or Mumbai.
However, it is easy to see that the achieved results are not fully commensurate
with the tourism potential between the two countries.The number of Indians traveling
abroad is only ranked behind China, and has risen very fast from 4.42 million arrivals
in 2000 to 21.87 million arrivals in 2016, a figure that is not small compared to
only 82,000 Indian arrivals come to Vietnam. The latest figures indicates that the
number of Indian tourists coming to Vietnam accounting for only about 1.7% of the
total Indian visitors to ASEAN countries. Meanwhile, Vietnamese tourists to India

accounting for only 2.24% of total tourists from Southeast Asia and accounting for
0.19% of the total international visitors to India (Ministry of Tourism - India, 2017).
Table 2: Data of International and Indian visitors to other countries and Vietnam
Year

India visitors
to international
(Arrivals)

International visitors
to Vietnam (Arrivals)

Indian visitors to
Vietnam (Arrivals)

Vietnamese
visitors to India
(Arrivals)

2005

7,184,510

3,467,757

11,218

NA

2006

8,339,614

3,583,486

11,973

NA

2007

9,780,000

4,171,564

12,789

NA

2008

10,870,000

4,253,740

13,524

4,877

2009

11,070,000

3,772,359

14,703

5,577

2010

12,990,000

5,049,855

16,120

7,548

2011

13,990,000

6,014,032

17,695

9,809

India-Vietnam Enhancing Partnership

340

2012

14 920 000

6 847 678

20 124

11 332

2013

16 630 000

7 572 352

32 145

12 312

2014

18 330 000

7 874 312

57 215

15 132

2015

20 380 000

7 943 651

60 017

15 341

2016

21 870 000

10 012 735

82 146

16 728

Source: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism [ />php/items/25583], and Ministry of Tourism (India), 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017.

Assessment of Tourism Potential Between the Two Countries
Evaluation model
In this content, to assess tourism potential between the two countries, we use the
model “the Functioning Tourism Sytem” (FTS), first proposed by Clare A. Gunn

(1988) approaching under the perspective of supply and demand of tourism, then
Shelby R. Herrin (2015) has adjusted. FTS refers to two main parts that form a
tourism system consist of the supply and demand side. Tourism potential between
the two countries will be determined by the demand and supply of tourism between
the two countries. Demand side is examinated by the measurement of amount of
population who are interested in traveling, have financial ability, time, health and
ability to travel. Supply is determined through the following four components:
Transportation including transport infrastructure (roads, waterways, airways) and
vehicles for tourists; Attractions/Destinations are tourist spots; Services include a
service system that serves the needs of tourists, resting, shopping, entertainment
and other needs; Information includes all sources of information and Promotion are
ways to promote to the community about destinations. Information and Promotion
has been combined into one by Shelby R. Herrin (2015).


Vietnam-India Tourism Cooperation: An Assessment of Status and Potential

341

Figure 1: The Functioning Tourism System

Source: C.A.Gunn (1988); Herrin, Shelby R.,“Application of Heritage Tourism Development
Frameworks to Jenkins County, Georgia” (2015). University Honors Program Theses. 137.
/>
Potentials of tourism between Vietnam and India
i.

Demand:

Both Vietnam and India are developing dynamically with economic growth rate

in recent years at about 7% for India and over 6% for Vietnam which is among the
highest in Asia.The middle class is growing rapidly, leading to a strong increase in travel
demand. In Vietnam, domestic tourists in 2017 increased by 18.1% compared to 2016.
The number of Vietnamese people travelling abroad also increased rapidly (Vietnam
National Administration of Tourism, 2017). According to the data of the Vietnam
Tourism Association, in 2016, there were about 6.5 million Vietnamese people traveled


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India-Vietnam Enhancing Partnership

abroad, spending $8 billion, double than the $3.5 billion figure in 2012 and in 2017, the
number of foreign tourists was more than 7 million (Baomoi, 2018; Vnexpress, 2018).
According to the Ministry of Tourism (Indian) (2017), the Indians going abroad
increased from 1.9 million in 1991 to 4.41 million in 2000 and 21.87 million in 2016.
Asia was an attractive tourist market for Indian tourists, accounting for 47% of the
total Indian travelers abroad in 2015 (Ministry of Tourism (India), 2017). Among
the top 5 destinations of Indian travelers, there are 4 places in Asia, namely Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Thailand. These are all places that have welcomed over
one million Indian visitors in 2015. In Southeast Asia, Singapore was the place that
attracted more than one million Indian visitors in 2015.
ii. Supply
Attractions/ Destinations:Both Vietnam and India are countries with a rich history, along
with social and natural diversity. Vietnam has 24 heritage sites recognized by UNESCO
as world cultural heritages, in which there are 8 natural and tangible heritages (UNESCO
and WHC). In addition, Vietnam has 3000 national heritages and 7500 provincial
heritages (according to Vietnam’s classification) and a myriad of customs, practices and
landscapes that Vietnam will bring for visitors.These are important advantages to attract
tourists to Vietnam. With the richness and diversity of cultural heritage types, Vietnam

is included in the list of countries that receive the most attention in Asia and has great
potential to exploit and develop heritage tourism. On a national scale, Vietnam is at the
centre of Asia in terms of geography, has a stable political system, dynamic economy, open
foreign policy and is gradually improving its national image. Vietnam is a destination
for business cooperation and event organization.
By the end of 2017, India had 37 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and 43 other
locations included in the tentative list of world heritage sites (Reference from the Open
Dictionary). In India, New Delhi alone has more than 1200 historical monuments,
including three world heritage sites ecognized by UNESCO. The cultural assets of
India show the brilliant development of stone art. Most of the listed temples and
religious buildings in India are built with stone carved figures and do not use cement
mortar. The Indian Government is making efforts to make New Delhi be recognized
as one of the 200 UNESCO World Heritage Cities in its efforts to preserve the 1000
year old city (Khanh Phuong, 2013).


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In India, besides the magnificent and beautiful buildings of the architectural
style that combine both Hinduism and Islam such as Agra Fort, Sikandra, Rambagh,
India also has very rich and variety life styles, cultural heritage and festivals that make
India a distinct tourist destination. India is not only diverse in terms topography,
natural resources and climate, but also a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious
community with colorful customs. India is the land of fairs and festivals. There is the
fair on everyday of the year. Fairs and festivals have added colors and identity to the
social life of the Indian people. Therefore, India is an attractive tourist destination
in all seasons.
Across the country there are wildlife conservation areas of thousands of square

kilometers. Here, the animals are living in the natural environment. Each area stores
a number of animals, including one species that is characteristic.
India’s diverse terrain also offers many opportunities for adventure tourism
sector. All interests are met: from the lightest trips to the more activity-oriented
and exciting trips; there is always something for each level of competence: from the
beginners to the practitioners. With rich natural, cultural, religious and historical
resources of Vietnam and India, the tourism potential of the two countries is huge
which serves as the basis for tourist cooperation development in the future.
Services: This element refers to the quality and quantity of the service system that
it determines greatly to the satisfaction of tourists. This factor is related to the
professional supply capabilities, the willingness to provide services with different
requirements with regard to food, medical care, accommodation, internet systems,
transportation, guide system etc.
Vietnam currently has about 1,752 international travel enterprises, including
5 stated-owned enterprises, 16 joint-ventures companies (Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism, 2018), along with Vietnam major brands in tourism
industry such as SaigonTourist, Benthanh Tourist, Hanoi Red Tour, Holidays
Vietnam, Vietravel, Fiditour, Vietcharm Travel, Hanoitourist…To provide services
to customers, most of the tourist companies proactively combine with local service
suppliers where Attractions/Destinations are available. Prices of services are generally
low compared to other countries in the region. The types of services are also diverse,
such as food and accommodation, and are appreciated by international visitors.


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However, generally speaking, tourism services in Vietnam are still restrictive.
For example, the different prices between domestic and international visitors in the

localities; the phenomenon of dragging and behaving poorly by local people; The
human resources in this sector not mastered foreign languages yet, have limited
professional knowledge and skills… In addition, the inter-regional connectivity in
this field or tourism chains in Vietnam are still limited.
In India, the system of tourism services is rich, diverse and is distributed
throughout tourist destinations across the country. There are 823 operators in India
recognized by Ministry of Tourism, as on 31st December, 2016: 172 travel agents,
420 inbound Tour Operators, 89 Tourist Transport Operators, 37 Adventure Tour
Operators, 105 Domestic Tour Operators. In addition, there are 1903 hotels with
104289 rooms including 13 one star hotels, 53 two star hotels, 419 three star hotels,
208 four star hotels, 128 five star hotels, 138 five star deluxe, 36 heritage hotels…
(Ministry of Tourism - India, 2017).
For many years, India has built a system of world-class accommodation
infrastructure to satisfy the needs of visitors. India has about 60.000 classified hotel
rooms and more than 35.000 others are under construction. The hotel room system
is scattered in different cities and has very diverse prices. The Indian Government
is planning to cut taxes and create more incentives for tourism services such as
reducing corporate income tax, tax incentives for hotel construction, allocating more
budgets for shopping of new cruise ships and renovating roads leading to scenic
spots (Ministry of Tourism, 2017). With such tourism service systems of Vietnam
and India, in general, the two countries have many advantages and facilities which
are ready to meet the tourist demand of the two sides.
Transportation: Vietnam has a convenient transport system with plentiful means
of transportation that basically meets the needs of tourists in regions of tourist
destinations, specifically: (i) Aviation: there are currently 24 airports, including large
international airports such as Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat and Da Nang. With a system of
continuously serving airlines, it is favorable for tourists to visit Vietnam to experience
travelling. (ii) Roads: Vietnam has about 17,300 km of national level roads and 27,700
km of provincial level roads. In addition, the Transportation Sector aims to invest in
to build 2,500 km of highways by the end of 2020; by 2030, Vietnam expected to

have 6,411 km highways, focusing mainly on the North-South highway and in the


Vietnam-India Tourism Cooperation: An Assessment of Status and Potential

345

capital area of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and routes connecting with international
seaports and border gates. This will be an excellent infrastructure development
strategy as a platform to connect tourists with domestic tourist destinations. (iii)
Railways: According to “The Adjustment of Vietnam Transportation Development
Strategy to 2020 and Vision to 2030”, Vietnam railway network has a total length
of 3,143 km in which 2,531 km is the main road, 612 km branch road and railway
station road. (iv) Inland waterways, ports and wharves: Currently, there are about
2,360 rivers and canals in the whole country, with a total length of 41,900 km with
108 inland ports and wharves. These ports are scattered on the main rivers and
canals. (v) Seaway: With more than 3,200 km of coastline, Vietnam has a system
of 37 seaports, 166 ports, and 350 wharves. Vietnam is in the process of building
an international gateway port in key economic zones and port terminals in other
areas ( JICA and MOT, 2010).
The increasingly renovated infrastructure and rich transport facilities have
basically met the needs of tourists to various regions. However, despite the increasing
rapid, the speed has not met the demand yet, and the quality of transport infrastructure
is low. Airports in Vietnam are currently overloaded and flight delays are regular.
According to the data of the Vietnam Aviation Department, in 2018, 39,632 flights
were delayed, accounting for 13.4% of total flights (CafeF 2019); trafic congestion
is also serious in big cities. Besides, trafic accidents is also high. The railway system
is outdated and poor in quality. Most of the railway system in Vietnam only has
one railway for both the coming and going directions, so the trains have to arrange
arrival times so as to avoid each other, so the time frame is not favorable and timeconsuming for travelers.

Similarly, India has a rich transportation system and public transport is the
main mode of transportation for most Indians. India’s public transport system is
one of the most used vehicles in the world. (i) India Aviation currently ranks 9th in
the world. India has 128 airports including 15 international airports. Since 20092010, Indian aviation sector have shipped 1.6 million tons of cargo, and in 2 years,
2010-2011, there were 142 million passengers. (ii) As of 2017, India has 4,689,842
km of roads, making India the largest road network in the world after the United
States. With a size of 0.66 km of highway on one square kilometer of land, India’s
highway network density is higher than the United States (0.65) and much higher
than China (0.16) and Brazil (0.2). However, most of India’s roads are narrow and


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India-Vietnam Enhancing Partnership

congested with poor surface quality, and 33% of villages in India do not have access
to roads in all weathers. (iii) India’s Railway network is the third and most widely
used railway system in the world. (iv) As of 2016, India had 106 national waterways.
The national waterway network is about 14,500 km of which about 5,200 km is
river way, 485 km is canal. (v) Seaway: India has about 12 main ports, 187 small
and medium ports, of which Mumbai and JNPT (Navi Mumbai) received 70% of
Indian maritime trade ( WB). The Indian metro system is also highly developed.
Delhi Metro is one of the largest metro networks in the world. Currently, many new
metro lines are being constructed and the old lines being expanded.
One of the main drivers of India’s tourism boom is the introduction of five
low-cost airlines in 2017 with more than 100 flying routes, which are preferentially
granted by the Government to open routes to remote areas which encourage thousands
of families to take flights as a mode of transportation.
With the current transportation system, both Vietnam and India can fully meet
the transportation needs of visitors to tourist destinations. However, until now, there

is no direct flight between the two countries and therefore, tourists of both countries
must transit in another countries, causing lots of inconveniences in travelling.
Promotion/Information: It is believed that tourist information between Vietnam and
India is still very limited. Vietnamese people know very little and even misunderstand
about India. For tourists, information about the country and the tourist location is
very important and it must be met quickly with a clear, specific, easy-to-understand,
updated and reliable information system… To develop tourism between India and
Vietnam, it is necessary to have information channels which timely meet the needs of
the visitors. In recent years, many programs have been held to promote tourism and
tourist cooperation between the two countries such as: Vietnam – India Friendship
Year 2012, Vietnam – India Tourism Cooperation Conference on 7th March 2017,
Market Launch Program in India from 11-16 December 2017, or India Tourism
Promotion Program on the theme “Incredible India Road Show 2018” on 8th May
2018 in Ho Chi Minh City. At the same time, the information channels of travel
companies have provided information about Indian and Vietnamese tours. Every
year, India regularly organizes large international tourism fairs in cities, attracting
the participation of a large number of businesses, travel companies from many
countries around the world.


Vietnam-India Tourism Cooperation: An Assessment of Status and Potential

347

In particular, two very large international tourism fairs such as SATTE (South
Asia’s Leading B2B Travel and Tourism Event), OTM (Outbound Travel Mart)
are held annually in Mumbai, New Delhi and some other states in India. Most
travel representatives in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia such as Singapore,
Maylaysia, Philippines, China, Japan… all attended while there is no representative
of Vietnam. In recent years, Vietnam’s businesses and travel companies have gradually

approached it but the number is very tiny and mainly confined to small businesses.
The promotion activities are fragmented, unimpressive and unattractive for partners
and visitors/tourists alike.
Up to now, cooperation, exchange and promotion activities between the two
countries are too little and on a small scale in comparison to the time, space and
potentials for bilateral tourism cooperation. It can be said that, the image promotion
activities of Vietnam’s tourism industry to the Indian market is still fuzzy and
unattractive. Most of the activities are in the plan and no large scale promotion
activity has been organized.

Identification of the Advantages and Disadvantages/Dificulties of Tourism
Cooperation Between the Two Countries
Advantages: The demand of traveling in the world is very large and increasing day by
day. India and Vietnam are two developing economies with high economic growth.The
lives of the people are fastly improved, the demand for tourism is great. Vietnam and
India are the two countries with great potentials of cultural heritage, including systems
of temples and pagodas, palaces, spiritual buildings and other cultural heritages. The
cultural and religious connection, especially Buddhism, is the favorable condition for
tourism cooperation between the two countries and therefore, spiritual tourism will
be one of the popular styles of Vietnamese tourists to India. This kind of spriritual
tourism tends to increase and is actually increasing.The need to travel to discover each
other’s cultural heritage, especially associated with religious beliefs is creasing every year.
Therefore, there are big opportunities for tourist companies and investors of the two
countries to cooperate and develop tourism in general, spiritual and cultural heritage
tourism in particular. In addition, the economic and trade cooperation between the two
countries is developing strongly and thus the demand for exchanges and transactions
will increase much more. Business investors of the two countries will have to penetrate
directly into each others’s markets in search of business opportunities.

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With the current potential for tourism development, Vietnam and India have
many the opportunities in attracting investment capital from tourist companies and
from investors of both sides. In Vietnam, big investors in the country are investing
heavily in Vietnam’s tourism with the expectation to turn Vietnam into a tourism
powerhouse. The opportunity for this smokeless industry in Vietnam and India is
immensely huge on the basis of the rich experience and practice from countries
that have developed tourism industries like Spain, the US, England and Sweden…
Besides, both Vietnam and India have many more open policies such as visa
application facilities, by electronic visa (e-visa). On the Vietnamese side, the facilities to
organize events of communication and promotion of Indian culture and tourism have
been streamlined and well received. In the context of rapidly developing technology,
the opportunities to expand the tourism market are huge. Vietnamese tourists can
easily and fully access the information on tourism programs in India and vice versa.
The cooperation opportunities in Vietnam – India tourism development are also
underpinned by the concerns of senior leaders of the two countries and the strategies
of bilateral political-diplomatic, economic, scientific, technological, educational and
training cooperation between the two countries. Development strategies and the
objectives to boost trade between the two countries with a focus on tourism have
made the tourism industry a key business for bilateral cooperation.
Disadvantages: In fact, most Vietnamese people are still ambiguous about Indian
culture, society and politics. The limited knowledge and information about India as
well as the questions and doubts about safety in India that have prevented Vietnamese
tourists, they are really not attractived enough and wishing to experience in India.
This is obviously the fault of communication of both countries which did not help the
citizens of two sides to understand each other’s reality. Security and political stability
in a country are now the top priority factors for travelers. In fact that both Vietnam

and India are very safe countries for tourists. So the mission for communication of
states, enterprises, organizations of both sides, is to bring the knowledge of the fact
to the communities of both countries.
Despite the advantages and conveniences of transport infrastructure as analyzed
above, India still faces challenges in this area as the congestion and poor quality of
roads. Rural areas have very limited access to the centre. Although the rural transport
network is very large, about 33% of Indian villages have no access roads and are


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349

cut off during the rainy season. The situation in Vietnam is similar. The problem of
trafic congestion is getting more and more complicated, especially in big cities, not
only roads in general but also highways in large urban areas. Trafic congestion and
deterioration of road quality is very common. This will lead to series of environmental
pollution problems (due to the emissions from vehicles) that will affect the quality
of tourism services. In addition, the fact that there is no direct flight between the
two countries will make tourists hesitate to travel by transiting in other countries.
Restrictions of tourist transportation infrastructure between the two countries will
limit the exploitation of the tourism potentials.
Challenges from regional competition are also a relatively large issue. It is worth
mentioning that most Vietnamese tourists travelling to China, Korea, Singapore,
Thailand while very insignificant number of people going to India. The open-door
policies of the above mentioned countries have created lots of advantages for
Vietnamese tourists: simplification of visa procedures, or visa exemptions such as
Thailand, Singapore, Laos… and at the same time, the communication strategies
for socio-cultural promotion for a long time has created the “Korean Syndrome”,
“Chinese Culture”, “Experience Singapore”… that attracted Vietnamese people and

increased their desire to travel to these countries. And vice versa, Vietnam does not
have a visa-free policy for Indian tourists traveling to Vietnam, which is a major
challenge to Vietnam’s competitiveness compared to other ASEAN members in
particular and Asian countries in general.
The lack of harmony in food has hampered tourism activities between the
two countries. Many Vietnamese people find it dificult to adapt to Indian food
and vice versa. Therefore, the conveniences of travelling between the two countries
are restrictive.
There are many other challenges in tourism cooperation between the two
countries such as the quality of human resources in tourism (very few tourist guides
have the ability to speak Hindi – Vietnamese), the quality and quantity of food and
accommodation services are limited (Vietnam does not have many Indian restaurants
in the locality, while India’s hotel system is concentrated in the middle and upper
segments, with very few stops for visitors to experience homestay themselves), there
is no master plan and tourism cooperation plans between the two countries.


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Conclusions and Recommendations
Through the above analysis, we can give answers to the three questions that were
initially asked. First, currently, the tourism cooperation activities between Vietnam
and India are very limited. The number of tourists between the two countries is
much smaller than that of countries in Southeast Asia counterparts such as Thailand,
Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.The number of Indian tourists coming to Vietnam
is much higher than that of Vietnamese to India. However, there is a brigh spot that
the growth rate of Vietnam – India tourism continues to be maintained at a high
level. Secondly, the potential for tourism cooperation between the two countries

is huge. Both the countries have the foundation for tourism development, i.e., the
richness and attractiveness of tourist destinations. The information and promotion
activities for tourism between the two countries are still limited. In addition, the
quality of travel services and a part of trafic is not really good. Thirdly, there are
still many dificulties in tourism development between the two countries. However,
the advantages are more than dificulties. This shows that the prospects for tourism
development between the two countries are relatively bright.
In order to further develop tourism activities between the two countries,
dificulties should be minimized. First of all, the Governments of both sides need to
operate policies giving priority to the two countries, such as visa exemption, creating
direct flights, making and implementing measures to ensure absolute security and
safety for tourists in general and tourists of the two countries in particular. The two
countries need to strengthen cooperation and exchange programs on tourism with
annual tourism promotion programs organized by the two Governments with the
participation of all economic sectors in term of tourism in general.
It is important to raise the awareness of the two countries’ communities of
history, culture, natural sceneries, economy, politics and society… in the form of
cultural exchanges such as movies, documents or expanding festival celebration
activities such as Diwali Light Festival, Holi Festival, Ganesha Festival… so that
the Vietnamese people can easily access and understand more about India; or vice
versa, Vietnamese traditional days such as the Lunar New Year (Tết Nguyên Đán),
Mid-Autumn Festival (Tết Trung Thu), Yen Tu Festival etc. for Indian tourists to
better understand Vietnamese culture and people.


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351

For tourist companies of the two countries, there should be a closer cooperation

sharing and exchanging experiences of tourist business activities between the two
countries with the aim to expand and improve the quality and quantity of tourism
services thereby boosting the two countries’ visitor export growth; the cooperation and
sharing can be formed under the activities of the Vietnam – India tourist cooperation
centres, Vietnam – India tourist organizations, Vietnam – India enterprises… At the
same time, it is necessary to enhance the promotion and information activities through
conferences, seminars, festivals, anniversaries… Or, the application of science and
technology (eg. 4D Virtual Reality Technology), the promotion of market research
between the two countries, building a set of specific and suitable tourist products
for each other’s tourists, especially the products associated with the cultural history
between the two countries to promote bilateral tourist connection through regional
links such as the Pilgrimage Program from Mahabodhi Temple to Truc Lam Yen
Tu Monastery or vice versa.
In summary, with the advantages and disadvantages in tourism cooperation
between the two countries as analyzed above, it is necessary to have deeper research
and broader practical activities in order to boost economic growth in general, tourism
industry of the two countries in particular. And hopefully, there will be more tourism
cooperation between the two sides in the near future.

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