Vietnam to welcome more MICE tourists towards year-end

Travel agencies in Vietnam in the rest of the year are expected to welcome more tourists traveling on business, or MICE guests referring to those buying tours for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions.

Saigontourist Travel Service Company said November began a busy MICE season for the company as it arranged tours for over 10,000 tourists in the month, including big groups like 1,800 people from Nissei Electronic Co., Ltd. and over 750 visitors from China. MICE guests mostly travel in groups.

 Tran Quoc Bao, head office of Saigonourist’s domestic travel section, said November is usually the beginning of the MICE tourism season, when many firms want to organize year-end seminars or meetings for their employees and customers.

Explaining why more MICE tourists come to Vietnam, especially at the end of the year, Ta Thi Cam Vinh in charge of Ben Thanh Tourist’s outbound section told the Daily that airfares are often lower then.

“November is the low season for some airlines, so the traveling cost is lower. Some companies see this as a good chance for their employees to study overseas in combination with traveling,” she said.

Vietravel as another tour operator in HCMC, meanwhile, has fared well in welcoming inbound guests including MICE guests this year.

“In the year to date, my company has welcomed 12,000 international visitors to Vietnam, up 30% year-on-year,” said Nguyen Song Dien Ha, marketing executive of Vietravel.

Recent statistics from travel agencies show the number of international tourists registered with Vietravel for tours to Vietnam in December and January next year at around 3,500 while Ben Thanh Tourist has over 1,000 MICE registrations for the occasion of New Year and Lunar New Year 2010.