HCM City is a popular MICE destination among foreign visitors. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City is seeking to strengthen its competitiveness as an international MICE destination by linking tourism more closely with trade, investment and international integration.

The city is building on inter-sectoral cooperation and new support policies to improve service quality, increase the economic value of MICE tourism and take a more proactive approach to attracting international events.

On Tuesday (September 29), the municipal Department of Tourism held a conference reviewing the joint plan for the MICE Tourism Programme for the 2022–25 period. The event reviewed cooperation in attracting and welcoming MICE groups while discussing measures to improve the quality, value and competitiveness of the city's MICE destination in the next phase.

Phạm Huy Bình, director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said that after nearly four years of implementation, the most significant results were not only reflected in the number of groups welcomed or the scale of support provided, but also in increasingly close coordination among State management agencies, departments, associations and businesses.

Such coordination covers the entire service chain, including immigration, security, transport, reception, accommodation, conferences, sightseeing, shopping and visitor experiences. This has gradually made MICE services more integrated, while contributing to improving service quality and professionalism in HCM City.

According to Bình, the city's new development space brings together complementary tourism resources, infrastructure and services.

The central area has strengths in conferences, trade, finance and services, while Bình Dương has an industrial base, specialised exhibitions, business connectivity and investment promotion. Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu and Côn Đảo offer advantages in the marine economy, resorts, ecology and distinctive tourism experiences.

The task in the next phase, therefore, is not simply to develop individual products or destinations, but to connect these resources into comprehensive MICE product chains. Such programmes should help extend visitors' stays, increase spending and expand the value generated by each group.

The effectiveness of MICE tourism should also be assessed through the quality of events, visitors' willingness to return and the spillover effects on trade, investment and services, rather than simply the number of groups or visitors.

Resolution No. 62/2025/NQ-HDND on policies supporting MICE tourism development is considered an important basis for attracting and serving MICE visitors through 2030.

On this foundation, the tourism sector will focus on improving policies, mobilising resources for infrastructure development, renewing promotional activities, strengthening the city's capacity to bid for and host international events, and improving management capacity across the MICE ecosystem.

Nguyễn Lộc Hà, standing vice chairman of the municipal People's Committee, said coordination efforts in recent years had contributed to the development of support policies and helped attract several large groups, demonstrating that the city's MICE tourism development strategy was gaining momentum.

MICE, he said, was not merely a tourism segment, but also had the potential to connect visitor flows, capital, knowledge and business opportunities with the city.

HCM City therefore needs to move from establishing coordination mechanisms to building substantive competitiveness, connecting resources into an integrated ecosystem and developing highly competitive value chains.

In the new phase, the city will place MICE tourism within its broader strategy for economic and service development and international competitiveness.

The focus will be on attracting conferences, exhibitions and events linked to sectors in which the city and its wider region have strengths, including finance, technology, innovation, logistics, healthcare, education, industry and the marine economy.

Hà said MICE development required a shift in thinking from pursuing visitor numbers to improving quality and value.

Performance should be measured through length of stay, spending, service structure, event quality, repeat visits and the economic value generated after events. The goal is not simply to attract more MICE visitors, but to increase the segment's contribution to the city's economy.

The city also needs to move from destination promotion to actively competing to attract and host high-value events. It will strengthen market research, identify target events, prepare bids and build relationships with international associations and event organisers.

“Going forward, HCM City will continue to improve the MICE development environment, mobilise resources for infrastructure, enhance human resources, apply technology and data, and strengthen international promotion.

“The business community is expected to take a more active role in investment, product innovation, service quality improvement and stronger linkages.

“With the foundations already established, the 2026–30 period is expected to bring more visible improvements in quality and competitiveness, gradually positioning HCM City as a regional centre for conferences, exhibitions and business events,” Hà said. — VNS