Visitors at the International Travel Expo HCM City held in HCM City last year. VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The annual International Travel Expo HCM City will be held from September 7 to 9 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center.

The largest travel event in the Mekong sub-region, ITE HCMC, titled “Connectivity, Growth, Sustainability”, will be double its size last year and has attracted more than 400 exhibitors.

It will be held in a hybrid format, combining physical booths and online booths. The latter will inform international buyers about products, services and a pre-appointment booking system to connect with sellers.

National tourism organizations from Cambodia, Chile, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand and local ones from St. Petersburg (Russia), Seoul (South Korea) and more than 40 Vietnamese provinces and cities will participate.

A hosted buyer programme with 200 buyers from 20 countries and territories will provide the opportunity for international tourism businesses to grow their markets and broaden tourism partner networks in Việt Nam and the Lower Mekong region.

The programme is expected to welcome decision makers from travel agencies and MICE and luxury travel companies from key and promising markets such as China, South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United States, Canada, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Australia, India, Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait.

A high-level tourism forum on “Digital Transformation Driving Tourism Development” and an ASEAN public relations and communications forum on “Destination marketing and sustainable communications” will be held as part of the expo.

On June 24 the National Assembly approved the extension of tourist e-visas from 30 to 90 days. Citizens of certain countries for whom Việt Nam waives visas can now stay for 45 days instead of the earlier 15.

The policy is expected to enhance the competitiveness of Việt Nam’s tourism industry and attract international visitors.

Promotion and marketing are essential to develop tourism and enhance a destination’s competitiveness, according to the city's tourism authority, one of the expo's organisers.

The HCM City received more than 1.9 million foreign visitors in the first half of the year, up 300 per cent year-on-year. Revenues from tourism in the period were worth an estimated VNĐ80.8 trillion (about US$3.38 billion). — VNS