Embassy of the SR of Vietnam, in association with Accor Hotels, OM Tourism, Vietnam Airlines and Jet Airways recently organised the first ever Vietnam Tourism Promotion event in West Bengal, under the theme ‘Vietnam– Amazing destination for Indian tourists’ at Novotel Hotel & Residence in Kolkata.
Ton Sinh Thanh, ambassador of Vietnam to India recalled the historic links between the city of Kolkata and Vietnam. In 1958, president Ho Chi Minh visited Kolkata during his first official visit to India and the people of West Bengal showed strong support to Vietnamese people during their difficult quest for freedom and independence. Ambassador Thanh affirmed, after nearly 30 years of renovation, from a country heavily damaged by the war, Vietnam has become one of the most dynamic economies in the region. “Vietnam is home of eight UNESCO world heritages, well-preserved historic relics and beautiful beaches which can rival the beaches in Thailand or Malaysia. Indian travellers can find the affluence of Indian culture in Vietnam through Hindu temples in Ho Chi Minh city or at the My Son sanctuary as well as many Indian restaurants. Vietnam has all kind of services to satisfy the need of foreign tourists, whether for holidays, shopping, leisure, food exploration, wedding, honeymoon or for business and conference,” said Thanh.
He also highlighted the rapid improvement in living standard achieved by India which permitted, in 2013, over 17 million of Indian people to spend their holiday abroad and 2.5 million of them went to South East Asia. However, the number of Indian tourists to Vietnam is still limited to 55,000 in 2014 but it is estimated to increase next years, thank to many promotion activities to be organised by Vietnam and India and also to the recent opening of direct flights between the two countries operated by Jet Airways. Ambassador Thanh invited Indian and especially West Bengali tour operators and travel agents to take advantage of geographical proximity between Kolkata and Vietnam to promote tourism and expand their tourist business with Vietnam for mutual benefits.
Umapada Mukherjee, director tourism, West Bengal Government expressed his appreciation for the initiative of Vietnam Embassy in India and stressed the importance of tourism cooperation between Vietnam and India. Geetesh Sharma, chairman of Indo– Vietnam Solidarity Committee in West Bengal recalled his memories about the beautiful country such as Vietnam, especially about the Ha Long Bay in the North and Da Nang city in the Center of Vietnam.