Vietnam has many advantages to develop MICE (Meetings, incentives,conferences/conventions, and exhibitions/ events) tourism, however thepotential of this type of tourism has yet to be recognised.
GeneralDirector of Hoa Binh International Tourism and Trade Investment(Hoabinhtourist & Convention) Nguyen Khac Huyen said in a recentinterview with the Vietnam Business Forum that Vietnam needed toidentify MICE as a potential industry to develop suitable strategies forit. He added it was time to consider establishing MICE businessassociations.
*Can it be said that the potential of Vietnam MICE tourism is huge?
Vietnamis considered to have great potential to develop MICE tourism. First,Vietnam has a lot of scenic, heritage and our people are open,enthusiastic and friendly. Vietnamese cuisine is very rich, andwonderful. The four thousand year history of Vietnam is also anattraction for tourists, especially tourists of event tourism. These arefavourable conditions for Vietnam to develop MICE tourism.
However,only until the 2008-2009 period when the country developed to a newlevel, trade activities expanded with the conclusion of a series ofbilateral trade agreements, the promotion of tourism cooperation, couldthis type of tourism truly flourish.
Currently, Ho Chi Minh Cityand Hanoi are the two locations that have the ability to exploit thisstrength quite effectively. Many popular tourist destinations of Vietnamhave been selected in the MICE programme such as Phu Quoc, Ho Chi MinhCity, Da Nang, Hue, Nha Trang, Hanoi...
There are thousands ofVietnam companies working in the MICE sector. The annual growth rate is20 percent approximately. Since 2003, Hoabinhtourist & Conventionhas identified MICE as the new direction of international tourism aswell as the key areas of development for the company. The company hassince then invested in technology, learned from the experiences ofspecialized organizations in this field to introduce this model inVietnam.
*So, what has hindered Vietnam to become a country of developed MICE industry?
Comparedto other countries in the region such as Singapore, Thailand, orMalaysia, Vietnam is endowed with internal resources and naturalfavours, however, Vietnam is also a developing country so it’sunderstandable that there still are difficulties for us to develop MICEtourism.
First, Vietnam is lacking in the number of conferencecentres with big capacity enough for large-scale of several thousandpeople. Currently in Vietnam there are only a few centres which can holdmore than five thousand people such as the My Dinh National ConferenceCentre, Giang Vo Exhibition Centre, Saigon Exhibition Centre. The numberof five star hotel in recent years even though has increasedconsiderably, but still not capable of responding to large events ofregional level.
The second difficulty must be mentioned is thelack of qualified human resources to cope with the demand of organisinghigh-level conference and workshops. Especially, the human resources intourism is not only inefficient in quantity but also quality.Engineering team can operate presentation machinery and equipment,especially machines of large capacity up to 16 thousand, is inadequatebecause up to now, Vietnam has yet to have many chance to organise largeworkshops so investments of enterprises in this field is limited andthe training is unprofessional.
Moreover, as Vietnam hasn’t got aclear strategy for the investment of becoming a MICE attraction, ourenterprises therefore haven’t proactively invested to develop qualityhuman resources providing for workshops or conferences of internationalscale.
Another factor is the unavailable of a good marketingstrategy for Vietnam landscapes. Excellent marketing strategies throughvarious channels such as TV, video, movies, etc. is the key to Korea’ssuccessful marketing of Jeju Island, turning it into a scenic naturalwonders comparable to Ha Long Bay, attracting hordes of visitors, aflight on every five minutes on average. Or another simpler example isthe kimchi dish, the everyday dish has become a Korea's culinary symbolthanks to diversified and effective marketing.
*How do you think Vietnam should develop MICE tourism?
Fromthe limitations mentioned above, it can be seen that in order todevelop MICE tourism, Vietnam should first invest in infrastructure,roads, building more convention centres and big hotels. We also need acomprehensive marketing strategy from agencies and localities tobusinesses to promote Vietnam as an attractive destination for MICEtourism development.
More importantly, agencies should identifyMICE as an industry besides tourism, an industry that brings hugeprofits so that they can build effective investment strategy. Vietnammust understand and be committed to investing and developing MICE as aseparate industry which has the potential to bring even more greatresources, to develop more powerful than tourism rather than a branch oftourism. As calculated by tour companies, currently MICE tourism’srevenue was six times higher than conventional forms of tourism.Therefore, this will be a great resource which the Vietnamese Governmentand enterprises should pay a great determination to develop into astrong industry.
Additionally, because Vietnam’s development isslower than other countries, we must leapfrog, which means Vietnam needsto set up a strategy specified each stage of human resources trainingfor MICE. Training here does not simply mean sending a team to practice,to participate in conferences or seminars but to have specificprogrammes on experience exchange, joint training activities, etc. withcountries of developed MICE industry.
Besides, Vietnam shouldalso approach, research to find out the key to MICE promotion success ofother countries. Currently, promotional spending in Vietnam isrelatively low compared to other countries in the region so Vietnamshould consider spending items to avoid inefficiencies so that Vietnam’simage, culture and heritage can be marketed extensively, professionallyand more effectively.
Like the case of Korean kimchi, Vietnamalso can market our unique everyday dishes such as Banh Chung or fatmeat and pickled onions etc. Vietnamese foods such as nem or phoalthough has been a popular choice among foreign tourists coming toVietnam but those quintessential dish has not yet become a culinarybrand in the world. The tourism industry needs to enlist the cooperationof ministries and agencies, taking every opportunity to promote MICEtourism on events and forums of regional and international levels to letthe world know more about Vietnam.
In difficult circumstances oftourism saturation, many companies will invest in the much morepotential field of MICE. Therefore, the Tourism Association also needsto think of the establishment of a MICE tourism business association tomanage, support and create development momentum for businesses as wellas promote better cooperation among companies in order to pull majorevents to Vietnam... If the host country couldn’t even maintain aconnection, support among businesses, then it would be even moredifficult for Vietnamese enterprises to grow into big corporations whichcan compete with foreign enterprises in this sector or can rubshoulders with developed MICE countries in the world.-VNA
GeneralDirector of Hoa Binh International Tourism and Trade Investment(Hoabinhtourist & Convention) Nguyen Khac Huyen said in a recentinterview with the Vietnam Business Forum that Vietnam needed toidentify MICE as a potential industry to develop suitable strategies forit. He added it was time to consider establishing MICE businessassociations.
*Can it be said that the potential of Vietnam MICE tourism is huge?
Vietnamis considered to have great potential to develop MICE tourism. First,Vietnam has a lot of scenic, heritage and our people are open,enthusiastic and friendly. Vietnamese cuisine is very rich, andwonderful. The four thousand year history of Vietnam is also anattraction for tourists, especially tourists of event tourism. These arefavourable conditions for Vietnam to develop MICE tourism.
However,only until the 2008-2009 period when the country developed to a newlevel, trade activities expanded with the conclusion of a series ofbilateral trade agreements, the promotion of tourism cooperation, couldthis type of tourism truly flourish.
Currently, Ho Chi Minh Cityand Hanoi are the two locations that have the ability to exploit thisstrength quite effectively. Many popular tourist destinations of Vietnamhave been selected in the MICE programme such as Phu Quoc, Ho Chi MinhCity, Da Nang, Hue, Nha Trang, Hanoi...
There are thousands ofVietnam companies working in the MICE sector. The annual growth rate is20 percent approximately. Since 2003, Hoabinhtourist & Conventionhas identified MICE as the new direction of international tourism aswell as the key areas of development for the company. The company hassince then invested in technology, learned from the experiences ofspecialized organizations in this field to introduce this model inVietnam.
*So, what has hindered Vietnam to become a country of developed MICE industry?
Comparedto other countries in the region such as Singapore, Thailand, orMalaysia, Vietnam is endowed with internal resources and naturalfavours, however, Vietnam is also a developing country so it’sunderstandable that there still are difficulties for us to develop MICEtourism.
First, Vietnam is lacking in the number of conferencecentres with big capacity enough for large-scale of several thousandpeople. Currently in Vietnam there are only a few centres which can holdmore than five thousand people such as the My Dinh National ConferenceCentre, Giang Vo Exhibition Centre, Saigon Exhibition Centre. The numberof five star hotel in recent years even though has increasedconsiderably, but still not capable of responding to large events ofregional level.
The second difficulty must be mentioned is thelack of qualified human resources to cope with the demand of organisinghigh-level conference and workshops. Especially, the human resources intourism is not only inefficient in quantity but also quality.Engineering team can operate presentation machinery and equipment,especially machines of large capacity up to 16 thousand, is inadequatebecause up to now, Vietnam has yet to have many chance to organise largeworkshops so investments of enterprises in this field is limited andthe training is unprofessional.
Moreover, as Vietnam hasn’t got aclear strategy for the investment of becoming a MICE attraction, ourenterprises therefore haven’t proactively invested to develop qualityhuman resources providing for workshops or conferences of internationalscale.
Another factor is the unavailable of a good marketingstrategy for Vietnam landscapes. Excellent marketing strategies throughvarious channels such as TV, video, movies, etc. is the key to Korea’ssuccessful marketing of Jeju Island, turning it into a scenic naturalwonders comparable to Ha Long Bay, attracting hordes of visitors, aflight on every five minutes on average. Or another simpler example isthe kimchi dish, the everyday dish has become a Korea's culinary symbolthanks to diversified and effective marketing.
*How do you think Vietnam should develop MICE tourism?
Fromthe limitations mentioned above, it can be seen that in order todevelop MICE tourism, Vietnam should first invest in infrastructure,roads, building more convention centres and big hotels. We also need acomprehensive marketing strategy from agencies and localities tobusinesses to promote Vietnam as an attractive destination for MICEtourism development.
More importantly, agencies should identifyMICE as an industry besides tourism, an industry that brings hugeprofits so that they can build effective investment strategy. Vietnammust understand and be committed to investing and developing MICE as aseparate industry which has the potential to bring even more greatresources, to develop more powerful than tourism rather than a branch oftourism. As calculated by tour companies, currently MICE tourism’srevenue was six times higher than conventional forms of tourism.Therefore, this will be a great resource which the Vietnamese Governmentand enterprises should pay a great determination to develop into astrong industry.
Additionally, because Vietnam’s development isslower than other countries, we must leapfrog, which means Vietnam needsto set up a strategy specified each stage of human resources trainingfor MICE. Training here does not simply mean sending a team to practice,to participate in conferences or seminars but to have specificprogrammes on experience exchange, joint training activities, etc. withcountries of developed MICE industry.
Besides, Vietnam shouldalso approach, research to find out the key to MICE promotion success ofother countries. Currently, promotional spending in Vietnam isrelatively low compared to other countries in the region so Vietnamshould consider spending items to avoid inefficiencies so that Vietnam’simage, culture and heritage can be marketed extensively, professionallyand more effectively.
Like the case of Korean kimchi, Vietnamalso can market our unique everyday dishes such as Banh Chung or fatmeat and pickled onions etc. Vietnamese foods such as nem or phoalthough has been a popular choice among foreign tourists coming toVietnam but those quintessential dish has not yet become a culinarybrand in the world. The tourism industry needs to enlist the cooperationof ministries and agencies, taking every opportunity to promote MICEtourism on events and forums of regional and international levels to letthe world know more about Vietnam.
In difficult circumstances oftourism saturation, many companies will invest in the much morepotential field of MICE. Therefore, the Tourism Association also needsto think of the establishment of a MICE tourism business association tomanage, support and create development momentum for businesses as wellas promote better cooperation among companies in order to pull majorevents to Vietnam... If the host country couldn’t even maintain aconnection, support among businesses, then it would be even moredifficult for Vietnamese enterprises to grow into big corporations whichcan compete with foreign enterprises in this sector or can rubshoulders with developed MICE countries in the world.-VNA
