Vietnam has been named among the world’s cheapest countries for Indian tourists, according to the Times of India, an Indian English-language daily newspaper.

Ha Long Bay. (Source ThinkStock Photos)

Vietnam’s ranking came after Indonesia on the list of the Times of India. According to the artile, Vietnam, a country of stunning landscapes and warm people, follows right after Bali, Indonesia when it comes to the cheapest travel destinations from India.

There are a lot of beautiful places in Vietnam like Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, Sapa, Mekong Delta, etc. “One Indian rupee when converted to Vietnamese dong turns to a whopping 334.68, making it feel like a Richie Rich sort of dream that is but true,” Indiatimes wrote.

“Flights can cost around Rs 18000 (USD 262). Accommodation begins at around Rs 600 (USD 8.7) but a comfortable room may begin at Rs 1200 (USD 17.5). Nevertheless, food and activities here are very cheap and you can wrap up your entire five-day trip under Rs 45,000 (USD 657),” they added.

Iceland tops the list, followed by Hungary, Japan, Mongolia, and Costa Rica.

Accordingly, the low-cost airline Vietjet Air is scheduled to open direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and India this September. This is one of the plan aims to attract more than Indian tourists to Ho Chi Minh City.

At the May meeting on socio-economic issues of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said his agency is working with several airlines to promote Vietnam to India. He noted that while 1.6 million Indians travelled to Thailand in 2017, only 170,000 visited Vietnam.

Vu added that the department has also asked local restaurants to design dishes specifically for Indian guests.

Vietnam received a total of more than 6.7 million foreign tourists in the first five months of 2018, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The country is striving to welcome 17 - 20 million foreign visitors and make USD 35 billion per year from tourism by 2020, contributing 10 per cent to the country’s economy, compared to the current 7.5 per cent./.

VNF