Vietnam attracts tourists from the billion-people market
Just a few years ago, India was still a relatively modest market for Vietnamese tourism. Before 2019, the number of visitors from this South Asian country only fluctuated around 100,000 per year. However, after the post-Covid-19 period, this market has boomed.
According to data from the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, in 2025, Vietnam welcomed about 750,000 Indian tourists, an increase of nearly 50% compared to the previous year and more than 4 times higher than in 2019 (pre-epidemic period) and 5.4 times higher than in 2022 (post-epidemic period). In the first quarter of 2026 alone, the number of visitors reached more than 242,000, an increase of more than 169% compared to the same period.
India has now entered the group of largest tourist sending markets to Vietnam and continues to be considered one of the strategic markets of the tourism industry.
This growth comes from many factors. Among them, the rapidly expanding direct flight network is considered the most important driving force. Flight routes connecting New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad with Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang or Phu Quoc have helped shorten travel time to only about 4-5 hours.
In addition, the e-visa policy with a stay term of up to 90 days and allowing multiple entry also helps Vietnam to be more competitive with many destinations in the region.
According to Mr. Rahul Bali - producer of the Bollywood film "Love in Vietnam", Indian tourists currently prioritize nearby, safe destinations with beautiful scenery, rich cuisine, reasonable costs and visa convenience. He believes that Vietnam is converging quite fully these factors, especially among family and young tourists traveling abroad for the first time.
Not only that, global economic and geopolitical fluctuations are also creating advantages for Vietnamese tourism. The weakening rupee is causing many Indian tourists to cut off long trips to Europe or the US to switch to more affordable Asian destinations.
Meanwhile, data from online travel platforms shows that the level of Indian tourist interest in destinations such as Phu Quoc, Da Nang or Nha Trang continues to increase sharply in 2026.
Million-dollar wedding opens up a new "gold mine" for Vietnamese tourism
Not only increasing sharply in quantity, Indian tourists also bring great opportunities for the high-end tourism segment.
Right from the beginning of 2026, the couple Shreya and Ayush (India) held a wedding ceremony in Da Nang with about 250 guests. The event took place at a high-class coastal resort and was elaborately prepared in the traditional Indian wedding style. Da Nang City Tourism Promotion Center also participated in supporting from entry, baggage clearance to welcoming guests.
Not long after that, another Indian billionaire family held a multi-day wedding in Ha Long with a scale of about 300-500 guests from business and upper class. Previously, Phu Quoc also attracted attention when welcoming a 7-day wedding of the Indian super-rich with more than 1,000 guests.
There are events that mobilize hundreds of personnel from India to Vietnam to serve rituals, stage setting and cuisine. The cost of organizing many weddings is estimated to be up to millions of USD.
Not only upper-class weddings, Vietnam also welcomed a delegation of about 4,500 employees of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Group sponsored by billionaire Dilip Shanghvi for tourism. This is considered one of the largest Indian delegations ever to Vietnam.
Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh - Marketing Director of Vietravel Travel Company said that the biggest challenge when serving this group of tourists is the too large scale, requiring synchronous coordination between many units.
According to Ms. Khanh, businesses have had to prepare detailed scripts for the entire chain of activities of tourists in Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay to ensure that each visitor has a full experience in the journey combining sightseeing, relaxation and work.
Ms. Khanh also said that Indian customers have quite specific requirements for eating, especially vegetarian dishes, regulations related to beliefs and religions. Therefore, businesses must flexibly adjust menus as well as service methods to suit each group of customers.
Ms. Nguyen Viet Thu - Business and Distribution Director concurrently of Novotel Hanoi Thai Ha hotel (which once welcomed 800 guests in a group of 4,500 Indian guests to Hanoi) said that the unit must prepare comprehensively from facilities to personnel to ensure the experience for tourists.
According to Ms. Thu, in addition to carefully preparing rooms and services to welcome a huge group of guests, the most difficult part lies in the culinary aspect. The hotel must coordinate with Indian chefs to develop menus according to each region, changing every day to meet the diverse needs of tourists, especially vegetarian groups.
Hotels and travel businesses welcoming large Indian tourist groups to Vietnam all admit that the unit must prepare months, even months in advance to meet the special requirements of guests.
Not only the story of services, the infrastructure problem is also raised when serving large-scale tourist groups. However, businesses all believe that continuously welcoming large MICE groups and luxurious weddings of the Indian super-rich not only helps increase revenue but also elevates Vietnam's image on the international tourism map.
According to experts, to compete with Thailand or Malaysia, Vietnam not only needs more air routes but also needs to build a service ecosystem suitable for the Indian market, from Halal cuisine, vegetarian dishes, culturally knowledgeable personnel to separate products for wedding tourism, MICE and high-class resorts.
2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam - India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In the context of increasingly expanding bilateral cooperation, tourism is expected to become one of the fastest growing and most effective sectors between the two countries.
