MICE – a key revenue generator for Vietnam’s tourism

At the 4th annual World MICE Awards gala ceremony held on March 6 in Berlin, Ho Chi Minh City was honoured as “Asia’s Best MICE Destination” for the fourth year in a row.

Hoi An ancient city in the central province of Quang Nam was recognised as Asia's top destination for business travelers. Vietnam Airlines was honoured as the “Leading MICE Airline in Asia”, while Vietravel was recognised as the “Leading MICE Tourism Organiser in Asia”.

With the awards, Vietnam’s MICE tourism has affirmed its position and won the heart of foreign visitors, said head of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh.

Statistics show that in the first quarter of this year, Saigontourist travel company served more than 12,000 domestic and foreign MICE tourists, of them about 6,000 of 50 delegations travelling HCM City.

Vietluxtour also said it signed contracts for hosting thousands of MICE tourists in the first three months, up 35% in the number of holidaymakers and revenue year-on-year.

The VNAT said investors from countries in the region like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and China are interested in Vietnam’s MICE tourism, explaining that this model generates six times more revenue than conventional tourism.

In Vietnam, MICE tourism is also viewed as a target of the industry’s development strategy.

Many experts share the view that Vietnam would learn from experience from others in this regard, and reap successes thanks to its advantages of natural landscapes, cultural heritage and mushrooming hotels and resorts.

Vu The Binh, President of the Vietnam Tourism Association, suggested localities set out master plans for MICE tourism, and policies to call for investors in this field.