HCM City (VNA) – 💦By promoting MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) tourism, Ho Chi Minh City looks to establish itself as an international destination attracting a large number of tourists from both domestic and international markets.

As related sectors recover and develop sustainably, HCM City has readied a strategy to make tourism breakthroughs by leveraging existing advantages, with MICE tourism being one of the key drivers. To realise its target of welcoming 8.5 million international visitors in 2025, the city's tourism sector has outlined several plans to attract tourists. Among them, MICE tourism is identified as a signature product playing a pivotal role in driving the sector’s strong growth. It continues to be a strategic spearhead, boasting immense potential for developing tourism into a sustainable economic sector of HCM City in the future. As part of efforts to draw MICE tourists, the municipal Department of Tourism has developed incentives for groups of such travellers. In early February 2025, the southern metropolis welcomed 200 Indian visitors from Cryptriva Group, marking the beginning of MICE tourism this year. As the first MICE delegation to have visited the city this year, the group was arranged to attend conferences and explore iconic destinations such as the Independence Palace, Saigon Central Post Office, Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, Municipal Theatre, Cu Chi Tunnels, and Ben Thanh Market. They also experienced a nighttime city tour on double-decker buses. Nguyen Tran Tam Ha, Deputy Director of the municipal Tourism Promotion Centre, said that by improving service quality, HCM City is expected to become a dynamic destination that blends modernity with unique cultural values, promising unforgettable experiences for visitors. Insiders perceived that HCM City is becoming more and more popular among groups of international MICE tourists. They attributed this result to tireless efforts by the local tourism sector to promote sustainable development and turn the locality into a leading smart and dynamic tourist city in Asia. In addition, that HCM City continued to win many international awards such as “Asia's Leading MICE Tourism Destination” for the fourth straight time at the 2023 World MICE Awards, presented in Berlin in March 2024, also gives it an advantage to capitalise on this type of tourism. Director of the municiplal Tourism Department Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa noted the sector is pushing ahead with developing typical products, promoting cultural, historical, waterways, wellness and MICE tourism, and improving the quality of culinary services to attract more holiday-makers to the city./.