HCM City (VNA)♉ – The 16th International Travel Expo – Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC 2022) will feature a variety of events at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) in District 7 from September 8 – 10, after a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ITE HCMC, the largest and most established travel event in the Mekong Delta region, will be held under the theme of “Growing Forward Together” as part of the efforts to revive inbound tourism. The hybrid event will feature more than 200 exhibitors, including airlines, hotels and resorts, tour operators, foreign travel promotion agencies, and enterprises from 45 Vietnamese cities and provinces. It also expects to attract 150 international buyers who are leaders of travel companies and MICE organisers from major markets, such as Southeast Asia, Europe, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US, Australia, and New Zealand. Various events will be held on the sidelines of the expo, for example a MICE travel forum, ITE HCMC 2022 Travel Awards, and Travel Fun Fair Day with lots of discounts and promotional deals offered. Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Le Truong Hien Hoa said the annual ITE HCMC returns after being called off for two years because of COVID-19. It offers an ideal platform for destinations, travel companies, hotel and resort operators and others to promote their products and services. Each exhibitor will also run a 3D pavilion with virtual assistants to increase interactions with online visitors. The largest city of Vietnam has made thorough preparations to welcome international tourists back after a two-year closure due to the pandemic. At present, authorities, travel agents and accommodation facilities are all ready to make the city a vibrant and safe destination. The eighth Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai festival was held across the metropolis in late March to honour the beauty of the Vietnamese traditional dress. This cultural event also marked the start of a series of activities to promote the city’s image to foreign visitors. Earlier this month, the municipal Tourism Department signed cooperation agreements with the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) and the Vietnam Airport Ground Services Company Limited (VIAGS) on boosting tourism in the city. The deals are part of the efforts to sustainably speed up tourism recovery and development in HCM City and the whole nation. Accordingly, HCM City and EuroCham will work together in promoting MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and events) and cuisine tourism in the city in the 2022-2024 period. Under the agreement, the two sides will strengthen activities on market research, tourism statistics and human resources training, while sharing experience in tourism management and operation. They will expand the direct channel of promotion to popularise the image of the city to more European firms and citizens in Vietnam as well as those in foreign countries. EuroCham Chairman Alain Cany said that tourism is one of the dynamic sectors of Vietnam. Despite the impacts of the COVID-19, the sector is recovering, he noted, adding that EuroCham hailed Vietnam’s door-opening policies, including visa exemption for European visitors, to promote this process. With its role of connecting European firms with their peers in Vietnam, EuroCham hopes to help the city to strengthen its capacity to research, develop its website, share database information, and train human resources, he said. Meanwhile, in the 2022-2027 period, HCM City and VIAGS will coordinate in raising the number and quality of tourists to the city as well as market research and building tourism trademark for the city, thus attracting more MICE tourists. Not only a lively destination with its own beauty, HCM City also helps to connect international delegations and tourist attractions throughout Vietnam when they come to the country. To attract more foreign visitors this year, the city is carrying out the “Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City” programme from March 15 to September 15, with bonuses to participants. The city currently has over 6,800 luxury hotel rooms that can meet requirements on piloting the welcome of foreign tourists./.