ITE HCMC 2022: TOURISM SPOTLIGHT IN SEPTEMBER

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Sept. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Expected to be a spotlight in tourism promotion activities, 16th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC 2022) was officially opened on the morning of September 8, 2022, at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.

The Opening Ceremony welcomed the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Mr. Phan Van Mai - Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr. Nguyen Van Nen - Secretary of HCM City Party Committee; Ms. Phan Thi Thang - Vice Chairman  of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh - Director of the General Department of Tourism and Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa - Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and representatives of the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. In particular, there were more than 1,500 delegates from 45 provinces and cities in Vietnam and 28 countries and territories (India; Qatar; Kuwait; Romania; UAE; UK; Poland; Germany; Italy; France; Australia; Austria; Japan; Korea; Singapore; Thailand; Malaysia; USA; Philippines; Taiwan; Laos; Myanmar; Cambodia; Pakistan; Russia; Brazil; Lebanon; Jordan), who are managers, leading experts in tourism, directors of airlines, travel agencies, resorts, famous tourist destinations, etc.

After two stress-filled pandemic years, ITE HCMC 2022 was proud to return with the theme "Growing Forward Together", which shows the attractiveness of the most prestigious international tourism event in the Mekong sub-region, thereby accelerating the tourism industry and making a breakthrough after the pandemic.

*Strengthen tourism development and recovery activities*

Vietnam's tourism industry sees the potential to grow significantly over the next five years, with an expectation of international tourism revenue to surpass pre-pandemic levels by 2024, becoming one of the major drivers of post-pandemic economic recovery.

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, emphasized that tourism has contributed significantly to the economy in Vietnam. Although our country has only officially re-open for tourism since 15 March, 2022, it has seen impressive growth with more than 81 million tourists in eight months of 2022, of which domestic tourists were 79.8 million arrivals, up by 155.7% compared to the same period of 2021. The estimated total revenue from tourism reached 356,600 trillion VND, up by 161.2%. In particular, just in the first eight months of 2022, Ho Chi Minh welcomed 18 million tourists, of which domestic tourists increased by 216%, contributing 74,500 billion VND to the city's total revenue.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, affirmed that the Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair plays a significant role in a new phase of the tourism sector, especially after COVID-19 with the booming of the smokeless industry.

ITE HCMC 2022 is one of the practical recovery solutions for tourism after the pandemic by providing the opportunity for localities and tourism enterprises across the country to promote images, cultural values, resources, and unique products to tourists. Moreover, this event also strengthened the connection and collaboration between tourism organizations in the new normal, improving the competitiveness capacity of Vietnam compared to other countries in the region and around the world.

In addition, these organizations also worked closely with local tourism associations to deploy a variety of tourism promotion and advertising activities to support domestic tourism.

The Minister also believes that, with the initiative and proactiveness of localities and businesses, new relations and business contracts will be signed after the fair, creating momentum for the recovery of domestic tourism in the near future.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the inbound tourist market to Vietnam is receiving very positive signals with more than 1.4 million visitors in the first eight months of the year, up by 13.7 times compared to the same period last year.

As the leading international tourism event in Vietnam and the region, ITE HCMC 2022 will open up great opportunities for localities and tourism businesses to attract domestic and international visitors before the final peak of the year, actively promoting the recovery of tourism in Vietnam and the region. Tourism units should take advantage of the fair to gather information and stimulate cooperation in the new period.

More specifically, Vietnam's tourism was excellently honored in the main categories of the World Travel Awards (WTA) Asia and Oceania region 2022 held on the evening of 7th September.

Meaningful victories at WTA, the prestigious Oscar of the world tourism industry, prove the relentless efforts of Vietnam's tourism and travel industry. After nearly two years of being "devastated" by COVID-19, tourism businesses and localities have maintained their hard work in promoting the image of Vietnam to the world. This accomplishment again showcases the competitive advantage of Vietnam's tourism, which is the basis for believing in the recovery of the smokeless industry when international tourism is fully reopened.

*The Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair promises to create a breakthrough*

ITE HCMC 2022 is the only international tourism event in Vietnam holding an International Buyer program to provide space for international tourism businesses to expand their markets and find travel partners in Vietnam and the Mekong sub-region. With consultation from leading aviation and tourism businesses in Vietnam, ITE HCMC 2022 has selected and invited 150 international buyers from 18 countries and territories, including the USA, Australia, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Romania, Poland, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Kuwait. The 16th ITE HCMC expects to open more than 6,000 B2B trade appointments between buyers and exhibitors.

With the purpose of promoting an experiential travel program named One journey - many destinations, the organizer coordinated with localities, including Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Thuan, Can Tho, and Da Nang, to run destination survey programs before and after the fair. Under the theme of this activity, HCM City will introduce its new tourism and regional affiliated products to buyers and the international press.

To accelerate recovery and create momentum for development in the new context, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism worked with the National Administration of Tourism and the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center to implement many side activities after the opening ceremony. In particular, many big forums and seminars are coming down the road this year, such as the high-level tourism forum *Recovery and Development Solutions for sustainable international tourism*, with the participation of Government leaders and representatives of other relevant departments and organizations across the country; *Workshop on promoting key and potential tourist market of Vietnam* (India and the Middle East) chaired by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism; *Workshop on digital transformation in tourism; Series of events on destination communication.*

Besides, there are notable tourism promotion activities such as Cambodia Night organized by the Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Cambodia; Korea Night hosted by the Korea National Administration of Tourism in Vietnam; Promotion Conference "Bac Kan Tourism Destination"; Quang Nam tourism introduction program.

In addition, the ITE HCMC Tourism Awards 2022 will also honor domestic and international tourism units that have made many positive contributions to ITE HCMC 2022. ITE HCMC Award 2022 includes three award categories: ITE Best Booth Design Award, ITE Exhibitor Recognition Award, and ITE Partner Recognition Award.

Visitors coming to the consumer public festival also receive exclusive special travel promotions on flight tickets, accommodation, and tour packages. The fair is expected to host more than 22,000 attendants, including 10,000 commercial visitors and 12,000 public ones.

The event was endorsed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, co-organized by the Department of Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center*, *CIS Vietnam Company and Le Bros Company.

This year's ITE HCMC 2022 is honored to receive the companionship of  Sponsors, including:
*Diamond Sponsor:* Vietnam Airlines - Official airline, Saigontourist Group.
*Gold sponsors:* GEM Center, Nova Hospitality, Renaissance Riverside Saigon.
*Other sponsors:* ACV, Bamboo Airways, Vietjet Air, Vietravel, Dien Quan Media & Entertainment, Ladafoods, etc.
*Information & Events:
**Exhibition date:
*09h00 - 16h00, September 08 - 09, 2022: Exclusively for commercial customers.
16h00 - 19h00, September 8-9, 2022: For commercial guests and the public.
09h00 - 19h00, September 10, 2022: for public guests.
*Venue:* Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) - 799 Nguyen Van Linh, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.
The event structure & timeline: please visit the website www.itehcmc.travel./.
For more information about the Fair, please contact:
Organizing Committee of ITE HCMC 2022
Email: info@itehcmc.travel
Website: www.itehcmc.travel

PR Newswire is News Release Distribution Partner of the 16th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC 2022)