Türkiye is a land of ancient heritage, unique beauty, and unparalleled destinations. Many adventures and experiences await travelers visiting Türkiye. For Vietnamese tourists, visiting Türkiye will become increasingly convenient, with seven direct flights each week from Hanoi to Istanbul and seven more from Ho Chi Minh City to Istanbul.
To better understand how these increased direct flights will impact tourism and promote the potential between the two countries, the reporter of VTV Times had a conversation with Mr. H.E Korhan Kemik, the Turkish Ambassador to Vietnam.
Mr. H.E Korhan Kemik, the Turkish Ambassador to Vietnam
The Reporter of VTV Times: The tourism potential between Vietnam and Türkiye is immense, especially with Turkish Airlines launching direct flights between Hanoi – Istanbul and Ho Chi Minh City – Istanbul, currently operating one flight per day and soon increasing to 10 flights per week. What are your thoughts on the impact of this increased flight frequency?
Mr. H.E Korhan Kemik: Turkish Airlines, our national flag carrier renowned for its excellent service quality, continues to set global aviation standards with seamless connections and superior in-flight experiences. As the airline with the most destinations worldwide, Turkish Airlines plays a crucial role in strengthening ties between Vietnam and Türkiye, making travel more convenient and enjoyable. Furthermore, with its extensive network, the airline serves as a vital gateway connecting Vietnam to the world.
Increasing the number of direct flights between Türkiye and Vietnam from 14 to 20 per week will boost bilateral tourism. It will enhance accessibility, and fosterstronger cultural exchanges. The expansion is expected to stimulate tourist flows, benefiting the aviation, hospitality, and related industries.
Türkiye attracts millions of visitors annually, and we anticipate around 60 million tourists will visit Türkiye in 2024.
Türkiye is a land of ancient heritage, unique beauty, and unparalleled destinations
As Ambassador, what specific actions will you take to effectively and substantively promote the development potential between the two countries?
I suggest the following activities:
First, launching tourism promotion campaigns: Co-organize events to showcase each country's cultural heritage, cuisine, and tourist destinations (such as Turkish Airlines' "Istanbul Tour" package). Utilize digital platforms to highlight travel itineraries connecting Türkiye and Vietnam. Social media campaigns targeting young travelers and families could play a key role.
Second, strengthening partnerships: Collaborate with travel agencies to develop combined travel packages featuring destinations in both countries.
Third, facilitating investment: Invest in tourism infrastructure, including resorts, medical tourism facilities, and entertainment activities.
Lastly, implementing cultural exchange programs: Enhance bilateral relations through cultural festivals and exchange initiatives to attract more visitors.
Could you please elaborate on the importance of Vietnam in Türkiye's economic and trade relations in ASEAN?
Under the "Asia Anew" initiative, Türkiye places a strong emphasis on its bilateral relations with Southeast Asian countries and ASEAN. With embassies in all ASEAN member countries, we are actively enhancing cooperation with ASEAN, aiming to achieve dialogue partner status.
Vietnam plays a crucial role for Türkiye within ASEAN due to its rapidly growing industry and strategic location. Vietnam offers Turkish companies numerous opportunities in sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure, renewable energy, and others.
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, straddling the Bosporus Strait, the boundary between Europe and Asia
During Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Türkiye in 2023, leaders of two countries discussed measures to further promote bilateral trade and investment cooperation, aiming to raise bilateral trade turnover to $4 billion in the near future. In your opinion, what foundations do we have to ensure this goal will become a reality?
Following Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's highly successful official visit to Türkiye last year, which marked a significant milestone in bilateral relations, substantial progress has been made toward achieving the goals agreed upon by both nations' leaders.
A balanced bilateral trade can be achieved on the basis of the following:
Strategic Framework: Enhancing the effectiveness of mechanisms like the Türkiye -Vietnam Joint Economic and Trade Committee. Trade Facilitation: Platforms like TurkCham VN can play a pivotal role in connecting businesses from both countries and exploring cooperation opportunities. Sector Focus: Prioritizing collaboration in innovation, technology, logistics, high-tech agriculture, renewable energy, and tourism to maximize complementary strengths. High-Level Dialogue: Continuing meetings between the two countries' trade ministries to fully exploit trade potential. Trade Digitization: Effectively utilizing digital trade platforms to connect Vietnamese and Turkish enterprises. SME Support: Sharing experiences in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Human Resource Exchange: Developing training and internship programs to exchange expertise, particularly in tourism, construction, and technology. Technological Cooperation: Establishing innovation centers focusing on renewable energy, smart cities, and advanced manufacturing technologies, where both countries can share resources and knowledge. Public Awareness Campaigns: Raising awareness among the people of both countries about existing opportunities in cultural, economic, and business fields to foster enthusiasm and dynamism, deepening cooperation between the two nations.
For Vietnamese tourists, visiting Türkiye will become increasingly convenient, with seven direct flights each week from Hanoi to Istanbul and seven more from Ho Chi Minh City to Istanbul.
Could you share how Turkish corporations and enterprises currently view the Vietnamese market, particularly in sectors where Türkiye has strong capabilities? What is your assessment of Vietnam's efforts to create a favorable business environment for Turkish companies?
Turkish companies, especially those in the construction and manufacturing sectors, are showing increasing interest in the Vietnamese market. Türkiye is globally recognized as a leading exporter of construction services and consistently ranks among the world's largest economies. The Long Thanh International Airport project, led by a consortium headed by a Turkish company IC Ictas, is expected to open up many future cooperation opportunities between Türkiye and Vietnam.
In recent years, Vietnam has been an attractive investment environment with a rapidly growing economy and the government's support for foreign direct investment (FDI) and ambitious development goals. Therefore, we also see opportunities for green urban development projects in Vietnam, contributing to sustainable growth. In addition, the two sides can also encourage and create favorable conditions for Turkish companies to operate in industrial parks in Vietnam, focusing on sectors such as textiles, automotive components, electronics, and machinery.
Furthermore, Turkish businesses can also invest in tourism sector such as high-end resorts, medical tourism, and environmentally-friendly hotel projects.
Thank you, Mr. Ambassador!
In December 2010, Turkish Airlines, the national airline of Türkiye, commenced its first flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, using an A340 aircraft.
In 2016, the airline began operating combined flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, to Istanbul.
By 2019, Turkish Airlines officially separated the two routes, launching direct flights from Hanoi to Istanbul and Ho Chi Minh City to Istanbul.
As of July this year, the airline has been operating seven flights per week on the Hanoi-Istanbul and Ho Chi Minh City-Istanbul routes.
By the winter of 2025, the airline plans to increase this to 10 flights per week on each route.
Turkish Airlines has an extensive and widespread flight network. Flights from Vietnam to Istanbul depart around 10:30PM Vietnam time and arrive in Istanbul at approximately 5-6 AM, facilitating convenient connections to cities in Europe and the United States.
The flight duration is around 11 hours, providing a reasonable time for passengers to enjoy a full night's sleep onboard. Conversely, return flights from Istanbul to Vietnam depart early in the morning, allowing passengers to comfortably connect from Europe, Africa, and other regions to Istanbul before flying to Vietnam.
Since the beginning of the year, the airline has transported 300,000 passengers to and from Vietnam. Turkish Airlines' European routes are highly convenient for passengers.
