As an important international trade gateway of the region and the country, Ho Chi Minh City has many advantages to become a tourism hub, including MICE field. It is the combination of tourism and seminars, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. The city has identified MICE tourism as one of four main types of tourism, including shopping tourism, eco-tourism and cultural tourism, which must be invested in.
    |
 |
|
Ho Chi Minh City is honored as “Asia's Leading MICE Tourism Destination” at the World MICE Tourism Awards 2023. |
Sharing about the fourth time receiving the award “Asia’s Leading MICE Tourism Destination,” Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Tourism, said, “This is an important milestone, affirming the trust of the international community in Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism industry, especially MICE tourism. Meanwhile, it also highlights the city’s effectiveness in organizing important international MICE events over the past time.”
According to Graham Cooke, Chairman of the World Travel Awards, Ho Chi Minh City is a destination with historical and cultural values. The city is also a vivid metropolis. Being honored as “Asia's Leading MICE Tourism Destination” will help the city attract big corporations and tourism brands, contributing to raising the status of Ho Chi Minh City to soon become a MICE tourism hub of the region and the world.
Currently, large tourism enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City are attaching much importance to exploiting the MICE tourism market. They focus on product quality, best services, eco-friendly destinations with absolute safety for tourists. According to Vo Anh Tai, Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Group, the group, as a professional MICE tourism organization, identifies MICE tourism as one of the most important products. Every year, Saigontourist Group welcomes and serves hundreds of thousands of MICE tourists.
Reportedly, in the first quarter of 2024, Saigontourist Travel Services Company Limited of the Saigontourist Group served a total of more than 20,000 domestic and foreign MICE tourists. Particularly in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigontourist Travel served more than 50 domestic and international MICE groups with a total of more than 6,000 tourists. To reach the goal, the company always tries its best to meet customers’ demands, and maps out strategy to attract more customers.
|
|
 |
|
Foreign tourists visit Ho Chi Minh City. |
Tran Quoc Bao, Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Travel Services Company Limited held that in the first months of 2024, the company has recorded impressive growth of domestic MICE tourism with an increase of 10% in comparison to the same period last year. In addition to increasing the number of tourists, the size of each tourist group has also increased significantly from 100 - 600 people. It is forecast that MICE tourism will still be the fastest growing type of tourism in the coming time and the company is ready to meet customer requirements with diverse and professional MICE product lines.”
In recent years, the tourism promotion program has been implemented in Ho Chi Minh City effectively. In 2024, Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism industry will attend many tourism promotion events and activities in countries such as Australia, the U.S., Singapore, the U.K., Germany. In addition, Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Tourism will also boost cooperative activities with Vietnamese diplomatic agencies abroad, international organizations, domestic and international airlines, media agencies and international news agencies to promote tourism in the city.
This year, Ho Chi Minh City targets to welcome 6 million foreign and 38 million domestic visitors, with a total tourism revenue estimated at VND 190 trillion. To do so, the city will continue to improve quality, and attach much importance to typical products, destinations and tourism brands, to name but a few.
Translated by Minh Anh