Orientation towards MICE tourism development

Source: Khanh Hoa is one of the communities with numerous advantages for developing MICE tourism (Tourism combined with Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions). Travel companies are working hard to find MICE tourists in order to diversify tourist sources and achieve a more sustainable tourism recovery. Benefits of developing MICE tourism Recently, HTS International Company Limited (HTS International Travel) organized a MICE delegation of 300 tourists from the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange to spend 3 days 2 nights at Movenpick Resort, Cam Ranh (Bai Dai, Cam Lam). The delegation was very satisfied after staying in a high-class resort and participating in a team-building program that included many new games with high interaction and connection, taking a tour to see popular monuments and landscapes of the coastal city of Nha Trang. Mr. Phan Dinh Thao-General Director of HTS International Travel said that from the beginning of the year, the company has connected and served many MICE delegations to Khanh Hoa (the largest delegation of about 500 tourists). Along with HTS International Travel, many MICE delegations were recently brought to Khanh Hoa by travel agencies such as Vietravel, Saigontourist, Long Phu Tourism Joint Stock Company, and others. MICE tourists play team building activities in Nha Trang beach. Photo: Thuong Vo Along with Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa is considered as one of the destinations with a variety of potentials and strengths to welcome MICE tourists. "Cam Ranh International Airport has various domestic and international routes, so it is very convenient for the transportation of delegations. In particular, Khanh Hoa has a very good tourism infrastructure with more than 1,000 accommodation establishments with more than 52,000 rooms, including more than 30,000 rooms of 3-5 star quality. Besides, there is also a very diverse restaurant system with big-scale restaurants such as Champa Island, Au Lac Thinh, Khai Hoan Vien ... to serve MICE delegations. The gorgeous and long beach is ideal for team building activities. MICE services such as bands and dance troupes are always available and quite professional. Nha Trang city has many attractions for delegations to organize city tours," said Mr. Tran Minh Duc, Chairman of Khanh Hoa Travel Association. Unified policy is required. Aside from the benefits mentioned above, the development of MICE tourism in Khanh Hoa faces some challenges. The fact that the People's Committee of Nha Trang City has prohibited passenger cars with more than 29 seats from entering the city during peak hours (morning from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.; afternoon from 16:30 a.m. to 18:30 p.m.) has caused certain difficulties for tourism activities in general as well as MICE tourism in particular. To solve this problem, travel businesses need to find ways to "adapt" such as changing the time of team building activities, advise tourists so that delegations of tourists can stay at hotels and resorts in Bai Dai and Cam Lam areas instead of staying in Nha Trang. “Tourists at Bai Dai will shorten the travel time from the airport to the accommodation facility. The beaches here are also very flat, do it is favorable for organizing team building activities. We always avoid peak hours when taking a tour of Nha Trang or taking a mud bath, calculating for delegations of tourists to go to the center of Nha Trang city after 8 am and take tourists to hotels/restaurants for dinner before 16:30”, shared Mr. Phan Dinh Thao. Despite encouraging signs, the number of MICE delegations to Khanh Hoa is still lower than it was prior to the Covid-19 epidemic. Therefore, the province's tourism industry is making efforts to attract MICE tourists. Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thanh - Director of the Department of Tourism said that attracting MICE tourists is one of the orientations of Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa tourism. In the coming time, the tourism industry will strengthen promotion and connection to attract MICE tourists to Khanh Hoa. Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa Tourism Association is developing a plan to organize a festival of associations and industrial parks in Khanh Hoa to introduce MICE tourism products to businesses. In the long run, tourism experts believe that to attract MICE tourists, it is necessary to promote destinations with large-scale and attractive events, renew by building new destinations, new products to increase attraction, travel businesses, hotels and resorts/tourist spots shall establish a close relationship to create MICE tours with preferential prices to increase competitiveness with other destinations… Vietnam has an advantageous natural landscape, numerous cultural heritages, tourism infrastructure and facilities, a world-class hotel and resort system, a stable political situation, friendly people, safe destinations following the Covid-19 pandemic... all of which are advantages and great potentials for MICE tourism development. Most localities in the country have these advantages. In recent years, Vietnam has consistently won prestigious international tourism awards, including Asia's Best MICE Destination 2021. "In the context of fierce competition among global destinations, Vietnam needs to have its own unique strategies and products in line with new post-Covid-19 tourism trends," said Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung at a high-level tourism forum with the theme "Solutions on international tourism recovery and sustainable development" in September 2022. Among the significant orientations of Vietnam's tourism to 2025 are attracting investment, developing MICE tourism, and creating captivating tourism products.