A MICE delegation organized by Saigontourist company in March, 2022 (Photo: VOV)

As Vietnam’s economic center, Ho Chi Minh City has a big number of businesses with a high demand for MICE tourism as companies are combining tour and celebration to thank their employees, customers, and partners after the difficult pandemic period.

Vietravel company said since the beginning of the year it has served 300 MICE delegations of over 20,000 people. Saigontourist company has organized MICE tours for 14.000 customers.

Hoang Thuy Linh, Deputy Director of Marketing and IT of Saigontourist, said: “MICE customers have boomed. After the lunar new year holiday in February, Saigontourist has organized big tours for businesses and corporations to hold review meetings and ceremonies awarding employees. In March we had a record group of 750 delegates travelling the Da Nang-Hoi An tour.”

Thi Quoc Duy, a representative of BenThanh Tourist Company, says MICE demand will continue to surge through summer which is exciting for travel agencies. “In April we had many MICE groups. The biggest contract was signed with a company to organize different tours for 6,000 people to visit many provinces and cities,” Duy said.

Ho Chi Minh City has advantages of MICE tourism with many big hotels having large meeting halls and well-organized services. (Photo: VOV)

Travel companies say that the favorite destinations are Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Phan Thiet, Vung Tau, Sa Pa, and Dien Bien. Customers prefer destinations with natural scenic spots and good infrastructure and services to accommodate big delegations. 

Vu Thi Thanh Hien, Deputy Director of Grand Sai Gon Hotel, said since the beginning of the year, it has worked with travel agencies to organize many MICE tours. “To catch up with the MICE trend, Grand Sai Gon Hotel has capitalized on this market and gained profit. We’ll continue to improve services, products, and accommodations. We also enhance marketing of Ho Chi Minh City and Grand Hotel as MICE organizers.”

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism has organized training courses for tour guides, restaurants, and hotels on food safety and hygiene. The Department has signed cooperation plans with other sectors to better serve tourists.   

Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said it’s important to make a good impression on tourists at the very beginning. “We receive a lot of good information of MICE delegations to Ho Chi Minh City. T&T company has a contract to serve 1,000 delegates from India from now to October. In order to ensure the best reception for guests, we will help travel companies to arrange tours, transportation, and vehicles for big delegations,” said Hoa.

Identifying MICE as the center of its tourism development strategy has been the best decision for Ho Chi Minh City, which was selected as Asia’s best MICE destination at last year’s World MICE Awards.