Vietnam most searched destination by Indians in 2023

By Hoang Phong December 15, 2023 | 05:31 am PT

A group of Indian tourists at a five-star resort in Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam, February 2023. Photo courtesy of the resort

Vietnam was the most searched tourist destination on Google this year by Indians, followed by Goa and Bali, according to the "Year in Search 2023" report.

Searches for Vietnam were highest in February and April, Google said.

Sri Lanka and Thailand, which have already offered visa-free policy for Indian tourists, came in fourth and fifth.

Apart from Goa, three other Indian tourist places where most Googled this year including Kashmir, Coorg and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Closing the top 10 were Italy and Switzerland.

India has been one of the 10 largest markets for Vietnamese inbound tourism this year with 352,000 arrivals, up 1.8 times against pre-pandemic times.

This year, Vietnamese carriers raced to open new direct routes connecting Vietnam’s major tourist destinations to Indian cities to tap into the world’s most populous market.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung also proposed the government consider granting visa-free entry for Indian tourists to compete with Southeast Asian countries.