The 14th edition of the International Travel Expo, Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC), aims to expand the market share of international visitors in four key areas: Northeast Asia, North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia to create a breakthrough in tourism promotion from 2018 to 2020.
The three-day expo featured more than 300 companies and brands from industries like airlines, hotels and resorts, travel agents, large corporations, and travel representatives from Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. Other participants included tourism departments from Vietnamese provinces and cities like An Giang, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Ca Mau, Can Tho, Da Nang, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Dien Bien, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Tinh, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Hau Giang, Thua Thien Hue, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kontum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Long An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Thanh Hoa, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tay Ninh, Vinh Long, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Yen Bai.
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Vietnam, with more than 9 million international visitors arriving on its shores in the first half of 2018, an increase of 25.4 percent over the same period last year. In addition, the outbound tourism market is also growing each year with a robust 7.5 million Vietnamese traveling abroad in 2017.
“Next year would be especially exciting with the Vietnam Tourism Year 2019,” a spokesperson from VNAT said. “Many special festivals, events, and activities will be organized country-wide, and visitors will get an authentic taste of the different Vietnamese culture, traditions and of course, sights and scenery. We have also recently turned our attention to driving luxury MICE tourism and dental tourism, so there are even more reasons to visit Vietnam.”
Jack Wei, General Manager of Informa Exhibitions Asia, added: “Tourism is an ever-evolving industry. You can create new experiences even at the same location. ITE HCMC is in its 14th edition, and every year, we have new exhibitors, returning exhibitors with new tricks up their sleeves, new tourism trends, and packages, etc.
Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of the Department of Tourism Ho Chi Minh City, said, “Ho Chi Minh City is an intoxicating mix of traditional and modern, quiet and bustling, but a few things remain unchanged. The city is all heart and soul, and the people are warm and friendly. We hope our visitors will have a very fruitful time here and also create wonderful experiences and precious memories in their time here.”
