During the meeting with the Vietnamese tourism delegation, Shri Gyan Bhushan, Senior Economic Advisor – Ministry of Tourism of India, said that language and cuisine are barriers preventing Indian visitors to Vietnam.
According to Pham Van Thuy, Deputy Director General of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Vietnam, and India have had a close and comprehensive cooperation relationship for many years, especially in tourism.
Shri Gyan Bhushan said that Vietnam has many cultural and religious similarities with India. Therefore, Vietnam has also become a popular destination for Indian tourists. Besides, many Vietnamese tourists also choose India as a destination for spiritual, Buddhist, medical, and sightseeing.
However, the number of tourists between the two countries is still limited in recent years and is not commensurate with the tourism potential of the two countries. One of the limitations of tourism development mentioned is language and cuisine.
“To attract and meet the needs of Vietnamese tourists to India soon, the Indian Ministry of Tourism proposed to promote human resource training activities in tourism. We open many courses for teaching Vietnamese, promoting culinary exchanges, sending Indian chefs to Vietnam to study Vietnamese cuisine, and opening Vietnamese restaurants in India,” added Shri Gyan Bhushan.
Pham Van Thuy also approved the above proposal. Meanwhile, he also suggested that India continues to simplify entry visa procedures for Vietnamese citizens, and encourage airlines to continue to expand their network of routes connecting cities of India and Vietnam.
The two nations committed to supporting each other by organizing market launch programs; encouraging enterprises to participate in international tourism fairs organized by each party; encouraging localities of the two countries to cooperate; and boosting tourism in the upcoming time.
