Photo: traveltriangle

In Hanoi, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Vietnam on June 22 connected with tourism authorities and Vietnamese travel businesses to boost MICE tourism (tourism for rewards, meetings) after the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 25 Korean units that are tourism agencies, local authorities in the Republic of Korea (RoK), tourism authorities of Vietnam, and more than 150 travel agencies in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City attending the event.

For Vietnam, RoK is a key tourism market. In 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam welcomed 4,290,800 RoK tourists, up 23.1% over the previous year. For RoK, in 2019, the number of Vietnamese visitors to RoK reached 554,000, of which 73,000 people entered for work and meeting purposes.

The two countries have had many activities of cooperation, exchange, and mutual support, creating favorable conditions for tourists, and developing tourism in the two countries.

In 2020 and 2021, the Covid-19 has affected the world tourism industry, including Vietnam and RoK. After the pandemic stabilized, the RoK government's flexibility in visa policy, issuance of tourist visas, and mandatory quarantine exemption from June 1, 2022, created favorable conditions for tourism recovery and development, especially MICE tourism.

Hoan Kiem Lake. Photo: Duy Khanh

The Government of Vietnam has also drastically implemented a series of measures to control the pandemic and maintain socio-economic development. On March 15, 2022, the Government of Vietnam reopened all tourism activities under new normal conditions.

In the first five months of 2022, the number of international visitors to Vietnam reached 229,000, an increase of 4.5 times over the same period in 2021; The number of Korean visitors to Vietnam reached 56,500, an increase of 334% over the same period in 2021.

Pham Van Thuy, Deputy Director-General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) suggested the Korea Tourism Organization coordinate with the VNAT. This is to create favorable conditions for people of the two countries to travel and people from the third country to visit the two countries.

He asked the KTO, and RoK tourism agencies, to share information and experience in developing MICE tourism, a product line that Vietnam is interested in.

The MICE Tourism Conference 2022 is an opportunity for tourism businesses of the two countries to share information and cooperate to develop tourism in Vietnam and Korea, MICE tourism particularly, after Covid-19.

According to KTO Chief Representative in Vietnam Lee Jae-hoon, the RoK values Vietnam’s potential in MICE tourism and affirmed that his country always welcomes Vietnamese firms to take MICE tours in the RoK. He expressed his belief that the event will create more opportunities for tourism sectors of both sides to foster partnership.

The RoK is currently considered a center of MICE tourism in Asia thanks to the high-quality infrastructure system in the majority of its cities such as Seoul, Busan, Jeju, Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon.

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