Visiting a number of Southeast Asian countries as well as the Asian region, Ms. Nguyen Thi Be Hai, a resident of Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 4, said that the river landscape in Ho Chi Minh City is very beautiful, especially at night. When the boat leaves Bach Dang wharf in the evening, visitors can see District 1, Thu Duc city shimmering with electric lights, and the scenery on both sides of the river is very poetic.
According to the Department of Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City, the city is the center of dynamic economic development in the southern region, an important gateway for international trade as well as it is the favorite place for MICE tourists.
In addition to the inherent landscape, the southern metropolis is also prominent with the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve, with the potential to welcome a large influx of MICE visitors to travel, experience, and meet. In parallel, four- star hotels and five-star hotels and large convention centers are also attracting a large number of holiday-makers.
Mr. Pham Huy Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saigon Tourism Corporation (Saigontourist Group), said that the corporation identifies MICE tourism as one of its key products. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Saigontourist Group welcomed and served hundreds of thousands of MICE guests collecting revenue of about trillions of Vietnam dong every year.
Recently, Saigontourist Group and Phu My Hung Development Company inaugurated and put into operation the Exhibition Hall B of the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), the largest exhibition center in Vietnam. The exhibition hall meets international standards in terms of engineering, construction, and space of the exhibition industry with the hope to create a breakthrough for tourism in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general after a period of severe influence by the Covid-19 pandemic, said Mr. Pham Huy Binh.
Mr. Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, assessed that Ho Chi Minh City is a place to distribute visitors to other localities; therefore, the southern largest city needs to strongly develop corresponding tourism products in order to make a breakthrough in the coming time. Mr. Vu The Binh further analyzed that visitors to the city may not stay as long to explore as in other localities, but the tourism sector in HCMC makes visitors experience beautiful venues in the city before going to other localities. In his opinion, Ho Chi Minh City should develop a variety of tourism products ranging from culture to cuisine, landscapes, and historical sites.
Mr. Tran The Dung, General Director of Fiditour Travel – Vietluxtour, acknowledged that Ho Chi Minh City has great potential in welcoming MICE delegations. In fact, before the Covid-19 epidemic outbreaks, many tourist delegations from Korea, China, and Japan decided to choose Ho Chi Minh City as a MICE tourist destination because it is a gathering place for accommodation facilities and convention centers with the best human resources in the country.
To attract more tourists to the city, right after HCMC’s tourism sector was about to reopen to welcome international visitors again, the municipal Department of Tourism signed a cooperation agreement with the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham). Under the agreement, the two sides focused on promoting the development of MICE tourism, and culinary tourism as well as strengthening market research activities, training human resources and sharing methods and experiences in tourism management and operation.
The cooperation between the two sides helped the city's tourism industry have more opportunities to directly promote the city’s beautiful image to European companies and citizens in Vietnam, as well as to international residents.
Additionally, the city Department of Tourism also signed a cooperation agreement with the Vietnam Airport Ground Services Company (VIAGS) in promoting communication, promoting destinations, supporting each other in conducting market research, building the city's tourism brand, and welcoming MICE tourist groups to Ho Chi Minh City...
At the present time, Ho Chi Minh City is accelerating the development of MICE tourism. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, emphasized that the department is building its own program to welcome MICE travelers by learning and adopting solutions from major cities at home and abroad.
In order to improve the quality of MICE tourism, Ho Chi Minh City will coordinate with ministries and sectors to prioritize these groups of tourists.
The tourism industry will organize programs to welcome and give gifts to heads or deputy heads of the MICE delegation in addition to increased communication with the delegation before and during the trip. Relevant departments were advised to create safe and convenient conditions for tourists when coming to the city, especially traveling by car. Ho Chi Minh City will also have a program to introduce attractive tourism product packages and stimulate demand for MICE groups.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa revealed that a series of tourism products of Ho Chi Minh City will be combined with MICE type to retain visitors. For example, after seminars and conferences, there are programs to visit the city’s tourist attractions and famous monuments and enjoy the artistic performance of lions and dragons and cuisine in District 5.
A MICE delegation of about 450 people from India is expected to arrive in the southern metropolis in July 2022. Travel businesses also promote attracting large groups of tourists from northern provinces to Ho Chi Minh City.
