MICE tourism, potential yet to be "awakened"

(Baonghean) - MICE tourism (tourism combining conferences, seminars, etc.) is currently developing strongly in many countries around the world. Despite its great potential, in Vietnam in general and Nghe An in particular, MICE tourism has not yet fully exploited its advantages. Therefore, it is necessary to properly evaluate and have appropriate strategies for this type of tourism to develop.

Young people from Ho Chi Minh City visit Uncle Ho's hometown.

Not yet effective

To meet MICE tourism, the destination must combine factors such as beautiful scenery, space suitable for group activities, infrastructure of high-quality hotels and resorts... If applying this standard, with the strength of sea tourism, Nghe An can completely meet it. Nghe An has a long, flat coastline, many beautiful beaches, and a clean environment such as Cua Lo, Bai Lu, Quynh Phuong, Quynh Lap, Dien Thanh beaches... On the other hand, the accommodation system has nearly 700 hotels and motels with over 16,000 rooms, including 1 5-star hotel, 5 4-star hotels, 12 3-star hotels and over 70 1-2 star hotels.

In fact, in Cua Lo, MICE tourism has been exploited by travel agencies for many years. Ms. Truong Thi Thanh Hien - Director of Caravan Asia International Travel Company said that MICE tourist groups often have large numbers, from a few dozen to more than 100 people, so the arrangements for travel, food, accommodation, entertainment combined with meetings are very strict requirements of the groups. Convenient transportation and the system of accommodation and food facilities in Cua Lo basically meet the needs of MICE tourist groups.

However, in terms of commercial services, the coastal town has not yet met the needs of customers. MICE tourist groups often have high economic conditions and large shopping needs, but in Cua Lo there are no quality, classy sightseeing and shopping spots and a lack of product diversity. This somewhat reduces the attractiveness of the coastal town in the eyes of tourists.

Tourists visit fishing island (Cua Lo)

There are many reasons why the potential of MICE tourism in our province has not been effectively exploited, including internal reasons from travel agencies and restaurant and hotel businesses. Currently, the whole province has 37 travel agencies that mainly exploit the domestic and outbound tourist markets (Nghe An tourists going abroad), while exploiting inbound tourists (foreign tourists coming to Nghe An) has not yet achieved the desired results.

Meanwhile, Inbound tourists are the potential target for MICE tourism, especially in the context that Vinh Airport has been upgraded to an international airport and the province's air traffic is moving towards connecting with Laos - Thailand. In addition, in the province, there are currently many prestigious and branded businesses in organizing MICE activities and tours such as Phuong Dong, Muong Thanh, Saigon Kim Lien, Huu Nghi ... but in reality, some units still do not have a department or team of staff specializing in MICE tourism business. In particular, MICE tourist groups are often large companies and corporations with multinational staff, requiring the service department to be fluent in foreign languages, while many tourism businesses in the province have not met the requirements.

Increase connectivity and communication

According to Mr. Ta Khac Uyen - Head of Nghe An Travel Association, MICE tourism is not a pure form of tourism, but it is a type of tourism that combines work with sightseeing activities, enjoying natural and cultural values ​​at destinations. MICE activities often do not have a fixed format, the number of guests and services fluctuate depending on the scale and nature of the organized activities. The stay is not long, the activities and events are busy and dense, requiring to be arranged according to a scientific, reasonable schedule, with creativity in tour design and organization. The solution for this is the need for close cooperation and connection between related units (hotels, travel businesses, transportation businesses, event organization businesses...) to ensure MICE activities are organized with the best quality, meeting the diverse needs of tourists. Along with that, regularly organize seminars, meetings, and exchange experiences in serving MICE groups to improve professional skills.

On the other hand, to develop MICE tourism, the infrastructure needs to be synchronous and the investment environment needs to be open, because MICE tourists also have the need to exchange, meet, and seek business opportunities at tourist destinations. Determining this prerequisite, many localities have resolutely taken action, such as Vinh city. Recently, Vinh City Party Committee has issued a resolution on developing tourism in Vinh city for the period 2016 - 2020 and the following years, emphasizing investment and upgrading the system of hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, entertainment and high-quality entertainment; planning to build walking streets, night markets, entertainment-specialized streets...

Nghe An lacks typical tourism products.

Mr. Bui Quang Phuong - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Vinh city said: Improving infrastructure to serve tourism development in general and MICE tourism in particular is one of the spearheads of socio-economic development of Vinh city. To do that, the city will work with the province directly with capable enterprises, promote socialization, and advise the province to have preferential mechanisms on taxes, fees, and land rents for enterprises investing in operations. In addition, actively reforming administration, creating an open and friendly environment to create sympathy for MICE tourists when coming to Vinh city.

Although it has a lot of potential for MICE tourism, this type of tourism has not yet developed in Nghe An, largely due to limited communication work. A noteworthy fact is that MICE visitors to Nghe An are currently only interested in Cua Lo town, Vinh city and Nam Dan district, while other regions such as the Western Nghe An region with attractive eco-tourism space are not yet widely known. This requires the propaganda and promotion of the provincial tourism industry to be further strengthened.

Phuong Chi