A conference held in Hue with nearly 500 delegates
Main customers
At the end of the year, conferences and seminars are usually held. This year, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the beginning of the year to September, many events, conferences and seminars rarely take place, or have to be postponed until the end of the year.
Therefore, MICE tourism is determined to be the main product of the domestic market in the last months of the year, a time when many arrivals have decreased because students have begun the new school year and the weather is not favorable.
Mr. Tran Huu Thuy Giang, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism, said that in the last 3 months of the year, many conferences and meetings of the ministries and central branches will be held in Hue. These include the 22nd Vietnam Film Festival_2021, organized by the Vietnam Cinema Department. Also, Hue University has a symposium with about 400-500 guests.
Although there is no specific date yet, a number of other conferences have been determined to be held in Hue. Year-end conferences and parties of many departments and agencies in the province have also been considered to be able to contribute to increasing income for the service sector.
According to the Department of Culture and Sports, in the last three months of the year, there will be many sporting events in Hue, such as Shuttle Cock Championship for famous teams, Taekwondo club Championship, and Karate club Championship, Swimming Championship for the elderly, the VTV Cup Cycling Tournament in Hue (November); Beach Soccer Championship; Sepak Takraw Championship, the National Wrestling Championship; and especially the VnExpress Marathon will be held at the end of the year (scheduled for December 27).
Leaders of the Department of Tourism assessed that sports activities are forecasted to help Hue attract hundreds, to thousands of athletes and spectators. Only the VnExpress Marathon is expected to have a large number of participants, accompanied by those who are relatives and members of the organizers. With the use of accommodation services, it helps the hotels "revive" after a long period of having less tourists.
Representative of Muong Thanh Hotel said that, for the time being, the hotel has received many bookings to organize conferences and seminars, in which, most of the large enterprises in the country and the Central region choose Hue to hold year-end conferences. Foreseeing the demand, the hotel has many promotions, or discounts on accommodation services for conferences or seminars held at the hotel.
Not only hotels will serve guests; when coming to Hue, many relatives of MICE guests will come together. Having suitable tour routes with the aim to meet the demands of customers is a solution to help Hue travel businesses sell tours to destinations in the province.
The need for more special stimulus package
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has just launched a program to stimulate domestic tourism in the last months of 2020 with the theme " Experience with safe and attractive tourism in Vietnam"; Vietnam National Administration of Tourism encourages localities to improve quality, having new stimulus packages to attract visitors to conferences and seminars; and Hue is part of this program.
The Provincial Travel Association claimed that localities are currently offering programs to attract MICE visitors. Therefore, the "race" on stimulus policies will create pressure and become a big competition because the "pie" from the market of conference, seminars and events visitors was likely to increase slightly, while the share went even higher.
Meanwhile, Hue’s strength is not transportation or facilities. This should be analyzed and overcome by the quality of service, the destination to ensure safety for visitors.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Binh, Chairman of the Provincial Resident Association, said that Hue was a safe destination, which was a "plus point" to attract visitors in the future. In addition to the initiative of the business, it is equally important to have support from government authorities, such as having solutions to "attract" events, conferences and seminars to Hue. It would be difficult for enterprises working alone in this competition for destinations today.
The leader of the Department of Tourism informed, another task is to build more one-day, half-day tours suitable for guests, as most of them would have time to have a rest when arriving in Hue. Tours like the antique Vespa ride, or the Honda 68 exploring movie scenes; culinary tours; pilgrimage tours to the temples… should be built to meet the needs of visitors at any time.
Mr. Tran Huu Thuy Giang said that it was important to focus on promoting "Hue - a safe destination" and MICE tourism capacity of businesses. Along with that, managers of this industry will provide maximum support for businesses in promoting accompanying promotional programs and packages.
Mr. Dinh Manh Thang, Chairman of the Provincial Travel Association, said that Hue might not be strong in MICE tourism, but the effective implementation of pandemic prevention made it a safe destination, so it was likely that Hue was still the destination chosen by many conferences and seminars. Through this, Hue tourism industry will reassess the market, the potential for development of MICE tourism and the difficulties and shortcomings that need to be overcome.
Story, photo: Quang Sang