The exploitation of destinations associated with historical and cultural values will create a typical MICE tourism product of Hanoi, as one of the solutions offered by tourism experts and businesses at the Hanoi MICE Tourism Forum, which was held by the Hanoi Department of Tourism on December 15 in Hanoi.

MICE tourism associated with Hanoi's cultural values

Australian travel companies visit One Pillar Pagoda, the most unique one in Asia. Photos: Le Nam/ The Hanoi Times

According to the President of the Vietnam MICE Travel Club, Nguyen Anh Duc, the development of MICE tourism, which combines meetings, incentives, conferences, and events, is of interest to many provinces and cities, including Hanoi.

Hanoi is the capital of thousands of years of civilization, boasting a wealth of tangible and intangible values. Many are listed as world heritage sites, museums, traditional craft villages, and rich culinary culture.

“Businesses providing the MICE tourism service need to add value to this type of tourism by capitalizing on this treasure,” he emphasized.

Nguyen Thu Thuy, from the School of Interdisciplinary Studies of the Vietnam National University - Hanoi, also said the capital is rich in tourism resources, especially cultural potential.

"Therefore, it is essential to link cultural values with MICE tourism," she said.

In addition to cultural values, Hanoi needs to promote night-time activities associated with MICE tourism.

Some tourism businesses participating in the event suggested that Hanoi should link MICE tourism with night tours to historical sites and culinary culture.

Or they can exploit tours on the Red River so MICE tourists can experience sightseeing on the cruise. In particular, Hanoi also needs to customize MICE tourism products according to local travel companies.

MICE tourism is considered a type of tourism with the fastest growth rate. According to estimates of some travel businesses, MICE tourists can spend 3-4 times higher than those in other segments. 

At the event, General Manager of Hanoi Daewoo Hotel Erwin R. Popov said that MICE tourism accounts for 50% of the total revenue in the hotel's business structure.

He added MICE tourism could be exploited in both low and high seasons, noting that Hanoi has many cultural values to develop MICE tourism in the coming time.

Policies for developing MICE tourism 

South Korean tourists join a MICE tour fair in Hanoi.

Many delegates at the event pointed to South Korea as a reference, as this country has paid special attention to the development of this type of tourism, successfully hosting numerous large-scale international events in various fields, such as the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010, with more than 10,000 participants, or the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, which attracted more than 1.5 million international visitors to the country.

South Korea also offered many preferential policies for MICE delegations to attract visitors to the land of kimchi, they said.

To promote MICE tourism in Hanoi, experts and businesses in the field suggested that the city should have similar policies.

According to some delegates, Hanoi should draw up a program to develop MICE tourism and specific products and boost international promotion with the participation of numerous agencies, departments, and enterprises.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Travel Association, Phung Quang Thang, affirmed the need to develop large-scale, modern and comprehensive infrastructures to create spillover effects on related services.

With the existing infrastructure, Vietnam has successfully hosted many major international events such as APEC, ASEM, and SEA Games, but for MICE tourism to take off, it requires large-scale and methodical investment, he underlined.

Speaking at the forum, the director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, Dang Huong Giang, said that the promenade areas of Hoan Kiem Lake, Trinh Cong Son Street, and the ancient Son Tay Citadel are favorable venues for organizing major events. However, they have not yet been exploited much in recent times. 

With the suggestions made at the forum, leaders of the Hanoi Department of Tourism affirmed that they would study building appropriate solutions.