Hanoi (VNA) – MICE, a type of tourism that combines meetings, conferences, and exhibitions, has posted the strongest recovery after COVID-19, making up about 60-70% of the total tourists, insiders have ꦆsaid.

“Fertile land” of tourism

After restrictions on mass gatherings to prevent COVID-19 infections over the past two years, companies and groups have rebounded and organised trips for their staff. Phu Quoc, Vietnam's largest island off the southern province of Kien Giang; the central city of Da Nang; the central province of Phu Yen; and Da Lat city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong are top destinations selected for MICE. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Director of Marketing – Communication at Saigontourist Travel Service Company, said MICE tourism accounted for more than half of her company’s domestic holidaymakers this summer. Vietravel, another tour operator, said it served more than 1,430 MICE groups during the summer. Flamingo Redtours also said its MICE tourists surged 500% compared with the previous time. On July 17, the company, a wing of Flamingo Holding Group, organised a trip for 2,000 vacationers to the central province of Thanh Hoa for three days and two nights in the form of MICE. Most of MICE groups comprise hundreds, in some cases even thousands, of people, with high requirements. Therefore, MICE has been viewed as a “fertile land” of travel companies. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, MICE accounts for around 60% of services offered by travel firms.

Master plan needed  

Apart from domestic tourists, this type of tourism in Vietnam has also lured foreign visitors. On July 15, Ho Chi Minh City welcomed 460 guests from India, one of the largest international MICE groups ever to Vietnam. The southern metropolis organised a special welcome ceremony for them right at the airport. The city supports travel companies with MICE services through the organisation of welcome ceremonies for tourists and the reduction of ticket prices at tourist destinations, among other programmes. Meanwhile, the infrastructure in Hanoi is insufficient to serve such big MICE groups, with each comprising thousands of people, even only 500-600 tourists, travel firms said. Director of Travelogy Vietnam Vu Van Tuyen suggested the capital city sketch out a master plan on MICE development from 2022 and assist travel firms in the research work to promote the services. Associate Prof. Duong Van Sau, head of the Faculty of Culture and Tourism under the Hanoi University of Culture, said managers should coordinate with businesses in this regard. Statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism also show that revenue from MICE is 4-6 times that of other tourist types.  According to the World Tourism Organization, by 2025, the world's MICE tourism revenue will reach over 1.4 trillion USD, which is concentrated in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Under the national tourism development strategy with a vision to 2030, Vietnam aims to lure more investment to the sector, promote MICE tourism and create attractive tourism products. The strategy aims to turn Vietnam into a renowned destination by 2025, ranking among the three leading countries in terms of tourism development in Southeast Asia and among the top 50 nations with the highest tourism competitiveness in the world. Accordingly, tourism revenue is expected to reach 1,700-1,800 trillion VND (77-80 billion USD), making up 12-14% to the country’s gross domestic product and creating about 5.5-6 million jobs. Vietnam strives to serve at least 35 million foreign tourists and 120 million domestic holidaymakers by that year. By 2030, Vietnam has set a target to make tourism a spearhead and sustainable economic sector and become one of the 30 countries in the world with the best tourism competitiveness. The tourism sector is projected to earn 3,100-3,200 trillion VND and create 8.5 million jobs by 2030. Vietnam looks to attract at least 50 million foreigners and serve 160 million domestic tourists by that time./.