Tourism sectors in Vietnam, India seek ways to overcome obstacles

Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)

New Delhi - A webinar on the prospects for Vietnam-India tourism cooperation in the post-pandemic era was held on September 17, bringing together representatives from some 200 travel companies, hotels, and media agencies in the two countries.

Aiming to identify measures to recover and foster the two countries’ tourism sectors in the “new normal” following the pandemic, the was co-held by the Embassy of Vietnam in India, the Policy Times newspaper, and the Millennial India International Chamber of Commerce - Industry and Agriculture (MIICCIA).

It was the second programme in the 2020 Vietnam-India Business Forum, which is hoped to connect enterprises in various fields from the two countries.

Vietnam-India tourism cooperation has thrived in recent years, especially since the launch of direct air routes. Like so many things, though, it has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delegates at the webinar affirmed that Vietnam and India hold huge potential in tourism cooperation.

Though now is still not a suitable time to resume tourism cooperation fully, the webinar offered the chance for the two sides to discuss the obstacles and challenges facing the tourism sectors and prepare stimulus programmes once the pandemic is brought under control.

It also helped travel companies and hotels introduce products and bolster their cooperation, thereby enhancing relations between the two countries in general.

Addressing the webinar, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu called on authorities, organisations, and businesses in both countries to bolster their engagement to overcome the challenges presented by the pandemic.

In addition to support from the Governments, he proposed introducing flexible booking policies for tourists and urged airlines, travel companies, and service providers to join hands and share information to overcome this time of hardship, as well as devise plans on setting up travel corridors to promote safe travel after COVID-19.

He added that in the post-pandemic era, tourism management agencies, tourism associations, and tourism businesses in Vietnam and India need to foster cooperation to address the consequences of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 and to explore opportunities to re-open, attract investment, and arrange exchanges and air links.

Thanks to tourism promotions, the number of Indian holidaymakers coming to Vietnam increased 25 percent each year from 2016 to 2019, while Vietnamese visitors to India rose 17 percent.

In 2019 alone, close to 30,000 Vietnamese travelled to India, while about 170,000 Indians visited Vietnam.