DRHo Chi Minh City: The fourteenth edition of the ITE HCMC 2018 (International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City), dubbed the definitive international travel trade event in the Mekong sub-region took off on Thursday. This year’s edition 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 in from 2018 to 2020.
Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of the Department of Tourism Ho Chi Minh City, said, “We bid everyone a warm welcome to Ho Chi Minh City! It is such an honour and delight for us to play host to so many of our counterparts from all over Vietnam, as well as over 300 travel companies and brands from around the world. 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 always 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.”
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 2018 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.”
The three-day expo features 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. Over 36 Departments of Tourism (DOTs) from Vietnamese provinces and cities also participated.
“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 organised 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 ever more reasons to visit Vietnam.”
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Vietnam, with more than 9 million international visitors arriving on its shores in the first seven months of 2018, an increase of 25.4 per cent over the same period last year. In addition, the outbound tourism market is also growing each year with a robust 7.5 million Vietnamese travelling abroad in 2017.
Apart from the Vietnamese DOTs, various National Tourism Organisations (NTO) and Tourism Promotion Organisations (TPO) from top travel destinations in Asia have also set up booths at the event to showcase distinctive travel ideas.
These exhibitors include India Tourism; Japan National Tourism Organization; Korea Tourism Organization; Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board; Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Laos; Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia; Ministry of Tourism of Republic Indonesia; Myanmar Tourism; Nagoya City; Penang Global Tourism; Taiwan Tourism Bureau Bangkok Office; Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Tourism Authority of Thailand (HCMC Office).
This year, the expo welcomes companies from the tourism hotspots of Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
One of the long-standing features of ITE HCMC is the Hosted Buyers & Media Programme. This year, 300 carefully selected Hosted Buyers from more than 35 countries, including outbound travel agents from over 40 key international markets, as well as 25 acclaimed Hosted Media from 15 countries consisting of Trade and Lifestyle Media, Bloggers, and TV Broadcasters, will also be present at the expo.
Buyers and exhibitors can make use of the business matching service and B2B Buyer-Seller meetings to network and explore new business leads. More than 5,000 online appointments have already been made between buyers and sellers on the ITE Online Matching System, which benefits both parties by allowing them to connect quickly and conduct their meetings efficiently. After the event show days, the Hosted Buyers and Media will explore several key tourist destinations in Vietnam.
The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism of Laos will also hold the Lao Tourism Night event, and the Ministry of Tourism Cambodia, the Cambodia Tourism Night event. Invited participants can attend on-trend business seminars organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and the Department of Tourism Ho Chi Minh City.
Six seminars have been lined up this year: Introducing Exciting Destinations of Vietnam; ASEAN Tourism Award; Vietnam – China Tourism Cooperation; Innovation in Tourism Products – From Ideas To Business Reality; Seminar on Vietnam – Japan Tourism; Advancing the Vietnam Travel and Tourism Sector – Enhancing Data Driven Decision Making and Using Blockchain.
