Hanoi (VNA) – Da Nang city's Department of Tourism, in collaboration with Vietnam Airlines and 12 leading travel companies, on February 19 inaugurated a shared booth at the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE 2025), held at the Yashobhoomi India International Convention and Expo Centre in New Delhi, India.
Speaking at the opening of the booth, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai reaffirmed his commitment to supporting localities and businesses in strengthening socio-economic cooperation between Vietnam and India, particularly in the tourism sector.
This marks the third consecutive year that the Da Nang Department of Tourism has participated in South Asia’s largest annual travel fair, aiming to increase the city’s presence in the booming Indian market. Currently, India ranks 4th among the top 10 international tourist markets for Da Nang, showing its growing importance.
Huynh Thi Huong Lan, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre, emphasised that India is one of Da Nang’s key markets in the post-pandemic recovery phase and is expected to continue its strong growth. She expressed optimism that Da Nang’s participation in SATTE 2025 will further boost brand awareness and strengthen partnerships with Indian travel companies.
Da Nang’s tourism appeal and emerging travel trends will be actively promoted at SATTE and through other marketing initiatives targeting the Indian market, she noted.
Lan also highlighted Da Nang’s focus on MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), golf and wedding tourism, which align well with Indian travelers' growing preferences.
In 2024, Da Nang welcomed over 222,000 Indian visitors, accounting for 5.3% of all international arrivals to the central city and nearly 50% of all Indian tourists to Vietnam. Notably, Indian tourist arrivals to Da Nang have surged by more than 13.5 times compared to 2019, the peak of pre-pandemic tourism.
India is also emerging as a key market for Vietnam’s aviation industry. Nguyen Trung Hieu, Vietnam Airlines’ Country Manager for India, shared that since launching operations in India in 2022, the airline has maintained 14 weekly flights between Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City and New Delhi/Mumbai, with seat occupancy consistently exceeding 80%.
Encouraged by these results, Vietnam Airlines is set to introduce two new routes connecting Hanoi with Bangalore and Hyderabad in southern India. Additionally, in 2025, the airline plans to deploy wide-body aircraft on the Mumbai–Hanoi route to meet growing demand for business, trade, and tourism exchanges between the two nations.
Taking place from February 19-21, SATTE 2025 has drawn the participation of over 1,800 exhibitors and more than 1,000 domestic and international buyers from 120 countries. The event is expected to attract over 50,000 visitors, reinforcing its status as South Asia’s largest and most influential travel and tourism exhibition./.
