HCM CITY — The International Travel Expo HCM City returns for the 13th time as the most established annual international travel trade event in the Mekong sub-region from September 7 to 9 at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre.

Themed “Your Gateway to Tourism in Asia,” the ITE HCMC is being held during the 50th Anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Ngô Hoài Chung, deputy director general of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The number of international tourist arrivals to Việt Nam rose year-on-year 35.1 per cent this month to reach more than 1.2 million.

In the first eight months of this year, more than 8.47 million foreign tourists visited Việt Nam, a year-on-year increase of 29.7 per cent, Chung said.

“This was serious growth. However, it is a tough task to achieve the target of receiving 13 million foreign tourist arrivals this year set by the Government,” he said at a press meeting held yesterday in HCM City.

Last year, Việt Nam welcomed a record 10 million foreign tourists, an increase of two million tourists compared to the previous year.

The tourism sector needs to boost the country’s tourism promotion programmes as well as strengthen connection between airlines, travel agents and accommodation facilities, and tourism sectors in the region, he said.

ITE HCMC is one of the country’s tourism promotion programmes that aims to boost the country’s tourism potential as well as strengthen connection with countries in the ASEAN region, he added.

ASEAN is a highly integrated and dynamic political and economic organisation, enhancing connectivity and cooperation among the country members in all sectors, and tourism is one of the most important areas of cooperation, said Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, director of HCM City’s Department of Tourism.

“According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism in the ASEAN region has achieved positive and overall encouraging results, with the Travel & Tourism sector contributing to the region’s economy higher than other regions in the world,” Vũ said.

The expo attracts international and local travel companies from 25 countries as well as hundreds of travel companies, large resort hotels, and small- and medium-sized enterprises from HCM City and other 30 provinces and cities across the country.

The 3rd Tourism Ministerial Conference of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) will take place on September 7 that aims to evaluate and assess the cooperation results in the tourism industry among ACMECS countries, and set specific cooperative directions in the coming years.

The conference will be attended by the Tourism Ministers of the ACMECS countries.

ITE HCMC is organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in coordination with HCM City Department of Tourism; Vietnam Trade Fair & Advertising Joint Stock; and Informa Exhibitions Pte Ltd. —VNS