HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi
Minh City is set to step up and professionalise overseas tourism promotion activities
this year as part of efforts to attract more visitors, said the municipal
Tourism Department.
Announcing tourism promotion
programmes on February 21, the department said that for the first time, it will
attend the IMEX Frankfurt 2024 in Germany, one of the world’s leading trade fairs
for the meetings, events, and incentive travel industry. This fair will feature
about 2,900 exhibitors from 150 countries and territories, over 3,000 buyers from
84 countries, and some 180 media agencies from 20 countries.
the success of Roadshow Vietnam – HCM City Tourism in Australia last year, the
department will hold a series of tourism promotion events in two large cities
of this country in 2024. It will also organise business-to-business (B2B) sessions along
with exhibitions introducing tourism products and services, along with agricultural
products and handicrafts of Vietnam and HCM City to Australian tourists.
In
particular, overseas promotion activities in 2024 and the following years will
be aligned with demand of travel companies working on different segments, it noted.
For example, promotion activities at IMEX
America in the US will focus on businesses in the MICE (meetings, incentives,
conferences and exhibitions tourism) industry. At ITB Asia in Singapore, the event is reserved for the firms running hotels/resorts and destinations,
according to the department.
To
enhance the effectiveness of overseas tourism promotion, the authority will
reinforce cooperation with Vietnam’s diplomatic bodies abroad and such
international organisations as the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Global
Cities (TPO) and the Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations (AFECA).
In addition, it will strengthen ties with international media
agencies like CNN, Discovery, BBC News, and PR Newswire to increase advertising HCM City’s tourism on
their channels.
Regarding
domestic promotion activities, the department said it will boost the popularisation
of local culture, history, and people by holding annual events, including the HCM
City Ao Dai (traditional long dress) Festival, the Tourism Festival, the River Festival, the International
Travel Expo HCM City, and the Tourism Week.
An
official of the department said tourism demand is forecast to decline as a
result of the prolonged global economic recession, thus considerably impacting
the tourism industry of Vietnam and HCM City. However, the city is determined
to fruitfully implement its tourism development strategy until 2030 to
sustainably develop tourism./.
VNA
