HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2018 will bring together travel companies from 21 countries and territories, the Việt Nam Tourism Association (VITA) has announced.

So far, nearly 700 travel enterprises nationwide have registered for the mart and open booths to introduce their products and exchange with other partners, said Vũ Thế Bình on March 13, vice chairman of VITA.

Notably, several units have registered for large-scale pavilions, including the Republic of Korea (270sq.m), Hà Nội (180sq.m), Vietravel (252sq.m) and Hanoi Redtours (126sq.m).

The mart will be organised from March 29 to April 1 at the International Exhibition Centre, 91 Trần Hưng Đạo Street, Hà Nội.

With the theme, “Online tourism moves towards Industry 4.0”, VITM 2018 will set up an exclusive exhibiting area. A number of workshops, where entrepreneurs and travel professionals will have a chance to learn about advanced software and apps on online tourism business, will be held simultaneously.

“Nowadays, online tourism has become an indispensable trend and shows a growing proportion in tourism business. Enterprises will come to the event to learn about tourism trends in the fourth industrial revolution,” said Bình.

VITA has called on travel agencies to promptly apply modern technologies to sell their products, thus promoting their capacity to attract and serve customers online.

VITM is the leading travel fair in the country and one of the key travel shows in the region. The event, which is held annually in Hà Nội, aims to boost the three travel pillars: outbound, inbound and domestic.

“VITM is an excellent platform for national tourism organisations and tourism-related businesses to promote, network and increase the awareness of destinations and brand names,” said Bình. “Participating in VITM creates unparalleled opportunity to engage and expand the business, especially from the outbound travel segment.”

VITM is also set to launch the largest tourism demand stimulus campaign of the year. Over the course of four days, more than 40,000 discounted air tickets and 15,000 discounted package tours (both outbound and domestic) will be offered to visitors.

Major activities will include seminars on online tourism, an international street food festival, conferences, introduction of destinations and signing ceremonies for several cooperation deals.

The fair hopes to attract some 60,000 visitors. — VNS