It is expected that on August 27, the group of 4,500 guests of Mr. Dilip Shanghvi - India's fifth richest billionaire will begin their trip to Vietnam. The delegation of 4,500 people belongs to the pharmaceutical corporation Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Limited.
According to Lao Dong sources, the group will visit the outside of Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, visit the Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi, explore Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), and the tourist area. Trang An province (Ninh Binh).
In Hanoi, the group plans to stay at 4-5 star hotels such as Sheraton Hanoi, JW Marriott, Novotel Hanoi Thai Ha, Melia Hanoi, InterContinental Hanoi Landmark 72, Pan Pacific...
Novotel Hanoi Thai Ha Hotel (Dong Da, Hanoi) welcomed a total of 800 guests out of 4,500 people. Of these, there are about 400 guests staying in phase 1 (August 27 - August 30), the rest will arrive in phase 2 (August 31 - September 3).
Talking to Lao Dong, Ms. Nguyen Viet Thu - Sales and Distribution Director concurrently with the hotel said: "We have comprehensively prepared from facilities to human resources to ensure that each customer has best experience".
The entire system of 343 rooms has been carefully arranged, with full amenities and high standard services. Hotel staff are also mobilized and assigned specifically, ensuring they are all ready with the best skills and foreign language ability to serve guests professionally.
According to Ms. Thu, the Indian billionaire's group of guests had no special requirements for rooms and mainly used double rooms. Regarding diet, the hotel carefully plans a menu to suit the habits of Indian guests, especially vegetarians.
She said: "We have collaborated with Indian chefs to develop menus based on each region of India and change daily to ensure we fully meet the culinary needs of visitors.
Although there are currently no specific requests for Vietnamese dishes, we are always ready to introduce typical dishes of Vietnamese cuisine if customers have a need."
On this occasion, Sheraton Hanoi Hotel also welcomed 200 people from the Indian billionaire's delegation. Ms. Nguyen Cam Ly, Deputy Director of Communications and Marketing of the hotel, said the unit carried out preparations 3 months ago.
The guest group has some special dietary requirements such as serving Masala Chai (traditional Indian tea) in all meals at the hotel, the breakfast buffet must have more Indian dishes and more vegetarian dishes than usual. Usually during the group's stay at the hotel.
"25% of the guests in the group staying at the hotel are vegetarian, including a few Jain vegetarians - the strictest type of vegetarianism," Ms. Ly said.
Specifically, Jain vegetarians do not use meat, poultry, seafood, fish, eggs, dairy products, tubers and roots.
However, welcoming a large number of guests poses many challenges, especially in ensuring that guests' needs and expectations are met.
"The first challenge is about traffic. The hotel is located at the central intersection of Thai Ha - Chua Boc - Tay Son with high traffic density. The group checked in in the afternoon, a large number of guests arrived. At times, the number of cars entering the lobby will also somewhat affect the traffic situation in this area," Ms. Thu said.
She added that even though the hotel arranges scientific reception work, it still needs the support of the local government to ensure that no mistakes occur.
The hotel will coordinate closely with the travel agency and tour leader to conduct check-in in a reasonable, quick and guaranteed way to ensure the satisfaction of all customers.
Despite facing many challenges, the units believe that the event welcoming the largest ever group of MICE visitors from the Indian market is a good sign for the Vietnamese tourism industry.
"We think that large MICE groups like the Sun Pharma group or weddings of Indian billionaire families held in Vietnam in recent years have brought Vietnam's name to a new level on the map. travel the world," Ms. Ly affirmed.
Faced with the news of a group of 4,500 Indian tourists traveling to Vietnam from August 27 to September 3, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration assessed this as a good opportunity to promote Vietnamese tourism to this potential market. The Vietnam National Tourism Administration has requested the Departments of Tourism: Hanoi, Quang Ninh, and Ninh Binh to support the organization of welcoming the group, ensuring safety and convenience.
Hotels where the group will stay are requested to allow travel companies to place information desks in the reception area to serve tourists.
By the end of July 2024, Vietnam welcomed 272,000 Indian visitors. This is the 8th market in the top 10 sending markets of Vietnam's tourism industry in the first 7 months of the year.
