ITE HCMC Celebrates Landmark 15th Edition Of Being The Influencing Force Shaping Global Travel Patterns

ITE HCMC Celebrates Landmark 15th Edition Of Being The Influencing Force Shaping Global Travel Patterns. With an expected 350 exhibitors, 300 hosted buyers and 40 hosted international media, the largest and most established international travel trade event in the Mekong sub-region is set for another powerful edition connecting international and local buyers and sellers.

The ITE is the largest and most established travel event in Vietnam and the Mekong sub-region—is celebrating its 15th edition milestone! The first show, held in 2005, had only two international pavilions from Thailand and Cambodia, 43 buyers, and 86 booths. Most of the exhibitors were local businesses, as the show was then designed as a platform for domestic tourism enterprises to meet international visitors. In the following years, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand joined in, and the theme “Five Countries – Single Destination” was born. In 2009, the Mekong Tourism Alliance Awards was launched to celebrate the best tourism enterprises within the region. In 2010, the event moved from Phu Tho Stadium to the larger Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center to accommodate a bigger show and more visitors. In 2017, the new ITE Awards was launched, with the awards continuing to this edition. Today, ITE HCMC is the prime opportunity for industry players and leading brands from airlines, hotels, resorts and travel agents to showcase their latest tourism products and services, a source for quality agents and distributors, and expand their business into Vietnam and the Mekong sub-region. There are impactful networking opportunities including customised business matching services, speed “dating” sessions, and pre-scheduled business meetings; numerous informative seminars by industry experts; and exciting social events. The organisers are expecting 350 exhibitors and 35,000 visitors to attend the show this year.

In this edition: Longer Exhibition Hours, Larger Space

This 15th-anniversary edition will enjoy a larger exhibition space of two halls, and extended operating hours from 9 AM to 7 PM on all three days of the event, which will be held on 5 – 7 September at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center (SECC).

Previously, public visitors could visit the show only on the last day. This year, travel bugs can scour hot promotional tour packages as well as enjoy performances and games from 4 PM on the first and second day, and the entire day on the third.

A new Tourism Start-Up Forum & Pavilion

To address the increased reliance on technology and the Internet in the tourism and hospitality industry, a Start-up Tourism Forum will be held on 4 September at Rex Hotel to discuss fresh solutions, new perspectives, and enhanced customer experiences.

Buyers and visitors can also visit the new Tourism Start-Up pavilion in the exhibition hall. The exhibitors in this pavilion will offer services including better security for travellers and their transactions, better payment models for businesses and consumers, automation in hotels and resorts, as well as personalisation of the travel and hospitality experience.

Insightful Seminars On Wide-Ranging Topics

A series of comprehensive seminars will also be held during the show, covering a diverse range of topics that visitors will find deeply beneficial in keeping updated with the current travel trends.

One of them is the new Corporate Travel Trend Forum, organised by Corporate Travel Community. Trade visitors will glean precious insights, trends, and best practices on corporate travel management from bespoke speakers in the regional corporate travel community, covering topics like the Relationship Between Corporate Travel and MICE; An Introduction of Strategic Meetings Management Programme; and The Myths of Corporate Travel Management. The seminars and forums will also cover Medical Tourism, The Rise of the Solo Traveler, Smart Tourism Development in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Russia Tourism Cooperation, Vietnam – Middle East Tourism Cooperation, and Vietnam – Korea Tourism Cooperation, as well as the following: – Ho Chi Minh City & Mekong Delta Tourism Connection Forum: Conference on investment promotion into the culture, sports and tourism infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta; – Ho Chi Minh City & Mekong Delta Tourism Connection Forum: Seminar on connecting and developing tourism products and cooperation in human resource training, and promoting tourism between Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta; – Ho Chi Minh City & Mekong Delta Tourism Connection Forum: Summit conference on development tourism linkage between Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta;

Hosted Buyers Programme

A prominent and longstanding feature in ITE HCMC, the International Hosted Buyers Programme, will return this year with 250 international buyers who are outbound travel agents from over 50 countries and territories, especially in the four key areas of North America, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and Western Europe. There will also be 50 outbound Vietnamese buyers.

The buyers come from companies in the leisure, corporate, MICE, luxury, and special interest travel sectors, and have been carefully chosen and approved by an Advisory Committee comprising of travel industry professionals from independent parties in the region. During the show, buyers will book appointments with sellers, conduct buyer-seller meetings, and attend social networking functions.

Hosted Media Programme

On top of that, the organisers will also host 40 media (eminent online, trade, and travel media and bloggers) from 14 countries including China, Dubai, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The hosted media will attend exclusive tours and networking events featuring the most engaging Vietnamese characters as well as the best of Ho Chi Minh City’s dining, cultural, and indigenous experiences.

ITE HCMC Confident Of Serving The Industry In Many More Editions

Mr. Michael Duck, Executive Vice President of Informa Markets Asia, said: “Vietnam continues to witness strong sustained growth in the tourism sector, with local and foreign companies pumping in more investments and opening up new routes. We are thus confident that ITE HCMC will continue to serve the tourism industries in Vietnam and the Mekong sub-region far into the future. “Recent news have been extremely encouraging. The aviation industry in Vietnam will soon see a new airline, Vinpearl Air, that will ply international routes after it received a business license in July this year.

In addition, AirAsia inked a Memorandum of Cooperation with local partners in December last year, reaffirming its intention to set up a low-cost carrier in Vietnam. The entry of these airlines is expected to make more parts of the country easily accessible to both local and foreign tourists.” In addition, the new luxury cruise vessel, the Mekong Jewel, is also slated to begin its journey down the Mekong River through Vietnam and Cambodia from 2020. Its offshore itineraries will bring visitors to Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh among others. Meanwhile, international brands have committed to building more hotel accommodation in Vietnam.

Oyo Hotels & Homes will be investing US$50million, aiming to become the largest hotel chain in Vietnam by the end of 2020 with 20,000 rooms and a presence in 10 cities. Eastin Grand Resort Vung Tau Vietnam aims to open 192 villas and 4,000 resort units by 2022, while Centara Hotels & Resorts targets to open at least 20 new hotels by 2024. Furthermore, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$45 million loan to Vietnam that will be used to develop secondary towns in Hoa Binh, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces into competitive tourist destinations. This is projected to benefit more than eight million visitors annually. The Mekong sub-region will also enjoy strong growth with new tourism spots, new international hotel openings, and government action plans to push the industry.

Strongly Endorsed by Countries in the Mekong sub-region

ITE HCMC, organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, Vietnam Trade Fair & Advertising Joint Stock (VINEXAD), and Informa Markets, is the only travel event endorsed by the Tourism Alliance of all five countries in the Mekong sub-region. It has the support from the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia; the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lao PDR; the Ministry of Hotels & Tourism, Myanmar; and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Kingdom of Thailand. It is also endorsed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism, Vietnam, and the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.