Hanoi (VNA) – The Korean TourismOrganisation (KTO) held a conference on MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conferenceand Event) tourism of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Hanoi on July 11.

Statistics showed that close to 34,000Vietnamese visitors travelled to the RoK under MICE tours with support from theKTO in the first six months of 2019, a year-on-year surge of nearly 25 percent.

Therefore, Vietnam has been viewed as amajor market in MICE tourism development of the RoK.

The event, which drew about 200 delegates,aimed to serve as a bridge for MICE service providers of the RoK and travelcompanies of Vietnam, thus creating new tourism products and boosting thenumber of MICE tourists of the two countries.

The RoK will adjust its visa policy to stimulatethe growth of MICE tourism in the coming time, said the KTO.

Half a million Vietnamese tourists visitedthe RoK in 2018, a rise of about 41 percent over 2017.

Meanwhile, Vietnam welcomed nearly 3.5million RoK tourists, a surge of 44.3 percent year-on-year.

In the first five months of 2019, Vietnamwelcomed nearly 1.8 million visitors from the RoK, up 22.4 percent over thesame period last year. The RoK has become the second biggest tourist sourcemarket of Vietnam.-VNA