The globally complicated Covid-19 pandemic has forced Viet Nam to remain shut to foreign tourists. As a result, like other Vietnamese localities, Da Nang is doubling down on its efforts in attracting domestic tourists the more the better throughout this year, with importance attached to lure those on M.I.C.E (Meetings-Incentives-Conferences-Exhibitions) trips to the city.

It is high time for Da Nang to develop high-quality products for M.I.C.E visitors. In the photo are domestic travellers arriving in Da Nang via airways.

Da Nang tourism industry has proactively built up plans for developing M.I.C.E  tourism by 2025, with a vision to 2030, with the desire to make MICE tourism become the core and special part of the hospitality industry, hereby creating a competitive advantage for the city’s development strides in the time ahead.

Da Nang has welcomed a combined total of 700 guests from Ha Noi on a 3-day/2-night M.I.C.E trip. Arranged by the Danasea Tourism JSC and Viet Street International Travel and Services Co., Ltd., the Ha Noi visitors stayed in the Sheraton Grand Danang Resort for their year-end vacation and events.

During their stay in Da Nang, the Hanoians were taken to visit such the city’s top-rated tourist attractions as the Sun World Ba Na Hills, the Marble Mountains Tourist Area, the Linh Ung Pagoda, and the Son Tra Peninsula.

The Sheraton Grand Danang Resort is offering many incentive programmes with high-class services targeting large delegations of MICE visitors, said Ms Nguyen Thi My Lan, Director of Marketing Communications at the resort.

According to Deputy Director of the municipal Tourism Promotion Centre Mai Thi Thanh Hai, in the current context, many Vietnamese businesses now have the growing tendency to organise M.I.C.E tours for their employees before the year’s end.

Great deals on M.I.C.E tours are being offered in a bid to fully tap the potential of this lucrative segment.

M.I.C.E shows itself as a specific and unique form of group tourism where tourists attend various business events and leisure gatherings in their professional or individual capacity. The majority of M.I.C.E tour bookers are businesspeople who want to combine organising conferences or seminars with travelling.

Based on these facts, it can bring in much higher revenue for Da Nang than the other types of tourism because it attracts a large number of high-spending visitors, said local tourism experts.

Although M.I.C.E tourism has more specific requirements and higher standards, it also brings about higher revenue, 4 - 5 times higher than other common kinds of tourism. Thus, promoting this emerging type of tourism has become a top priority for many travel agents.

In his constructive recommendations, Mr Le Thien Tu, Director of the city-based V.E.I Tourism Co., Ltd. underlined an urgent need to develop human resources with good deals of expertise in service for M.I.C.E tourism.

In the long run, Da Nang tourism industry should pay more attention to training highly qualified employees, creating even more high-end support services for M.I.C.E tourism”, said Mr Tu.

It is necessary to create even more high-end support services for M.I.C.E tourism. Visitors are seen admiring the beauty of the Sun World Ba Na Hills

Under the plans for developing M.I.C.E tourism by 2025, with a vision to 2030, priority will be given to setting out specific strategic development directions on preferential policies, interdisciplinary coordination mechanisms, financial preparations  for the management and promotion of M.I.C.E tourism.

A specialised local agency exclusively for M.I.C.E tourism and more high-quality products will also make their debuts.

In addition, in the coming time, Da Nang tourism sector will show its more interest in developing the M.I.C.E ecosystem, with a focus on supporting the development of M.I.CE service providers in terms of their size and capacity, said Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Nguyen Xuan Binh.

By SONG KHUE- Translated by A.T