Business take part in the Việt Nam MICE EXPO 2024. The 2025 version will be held on September 26 in Hà Nội. Photo of VGP

HÀ NỘI — The largest national meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions event, the Việt Nam MICE EXPO 2025, will be held in September, featuring heritage and technology to drive tourism development.

With the theme 'Heritage and Technology – Driving Forces for MICE Tourism Development in the New Era', the expo is expected to attract more than 800 domestic and foreign enterprises and 1,500 delegates on September 26 at Hà Nội's National Convention Centre.

Referring to a specialised segment of the tourism industry focused on organising large-scale events for professional and business purposes, MICE events bring together individuals and groups for networking, knowledge sharing and business development.

In recent years, MICE tourism has grown strongly and expanded its connections with discovery and resort activities, creating attractive competition for tourism products and increasing revenue.

Permanent Vice President of the Việt Nam Tourism Association (VTA) Cao Thi Ngọc Lan said there was great potential and room for Việt Nam in this field.

VTA, especially the Việt Nam MICE Association (VMA), has made efforts to organise the expo to connect businesses and enterprises, build a more professional MICE ecosystem and promote regional and industry linkages and expand domestic and international cooperation opportunities.

Lan also asked travel agencies, hotels and tourism-related bodies to actively participate and contribute to the success of this year's event, promoting Việt Nam's MICE tourism internationally and bringing its potential to reality.

Nguyễn Đức Anh, VMA chairman, said that the theme of this year's Expo was not only a strategic orientation for national MICE tourism development, but also reflected a dual vision in the context of globalisation.

The organising committee hold a press conference announcing Việt Nam MICE EXPO 2025 which will feature about 1,500 delegates and many businesses. -- Photo of VMA

Specifically, tourism development was based on exploiting heritage values as a foundation for identity, while applying technology to enhance the competitiveness and creativity of Việt Nam in the world market.

The activities at the event focus on three key points: positioning Việt Nam's tourism identity through exploiting tangible and intangible cultural heritage values to create unique MICE experiences; promoting technological revolution by applying digital platforms to enhance heritage values and event organisation activities; and expanding global connections by attracting 1,500 domestic buyers and more than 50 international MICE partners from many countries and foreign tourism promotion offices in Việt Nam.

“We aim to highlight the connection between Việt Nam’s cultural identity, natural resources and technological advances that are shaping the future of tourism. Heritage is not only a spiritual value, but also a creative foundation for unique MICE experiences," Đức said.

"In the digital age, technology is the bridge that helps MICE go further, become more professional and sustainable," he said, adding that Việt Nam MICE EXPO 2025 was not just a simple business meeting event but a connection of tradition and modernity, people and technology, and Việt Nam and the world.

Kiều Việt, head of the Accommodation Management Department of the Hà Nội Department of Tourism, said: "As the capital city, where many key events take place, Hà Nội identifies MICE tourism as one of the development directions to increase revenue, quality and professionalism of the tourism industry.

"In the context that the city is actively preparing for a series of events on the occasion of National Day, September 2, the successful organisation of the MICE Expo 2025 will contribute to promoting the number of MICE visitors in particular and tourists in general to Hà Nội."

There will be a range of activities, including a seminar on heritage and technology, a direct connection session between businesses (B2B) in the tourism-event-technology ecosystem and a technology experience area (Tech Zone) introducing specialised digital solutions for the MICE industry.

At the TechZone, for the first time, tourism businesses will have access to new technology solutions such as virtual conference organisation platform; virtual reality technology (VR/AR) to help visitors visit MICE locations remotely, AI to support the construction of personalised event itineraries, AI translation, smart event management system and a digital ecosystem for the entire MICE chain, from planning, approaching customers to organising and operating.

"We expect MICE Expo 2025 to not only be a place for trading but also a place for businesses to transform digitally and introduce products and services with a Vietnamese identity", VMA General Secretary Lưu An Hòa said.

MICE Expo 2025 will not be just a one-day event, as organisers expect to create a long-term ripple effect later on. They will continue to build MICE Việt Nam Hub - a network connecting MICE businesses nationwide, maintain promotion, update technology and expand international cooperation.

VMA will coordinate with media agencies to spread good models and success stories, helping the business community and localities realise the true value of the MICE industry.

There will be activities to enhance connectivity of travel agencies and businesses, such as the VMA Pickleball Cup and an online running event 'One lap of Việt Nam' to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the national tourism industry on July 9, 1960-2025. VNS