Gilbert Whelan said Vietnam had almost all necessary elements to strongly develop MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions) tourism, namely social stability, meetings infrastructure, convention centres, resorts that met international standards as well as an attractive culture and enthusiastic customer-care services.

There were direct flights between Vietnam and other promising MICE markets in Asia, Europe and America. A long and beautiful coast and a number of international standard hotels and resorts were major advantages that Vietnam had developed.

Some destinations, such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, were very familiar with tourists. The new trend was to find new destinations for conferences and reward ceremonies and Vietnam had distinct advantages. In particular, competitive prices were examined by tourists when choosing their destinations, especially during the crises in the global economy, he said.

However, the country’s advertisements in MICE tourism and general images of tourism failed to show signs of confidence.

Whelan suggested that to create an attractive Vietnam among MICE tourists, the first and most important element for Vietnam was to gather relevant businesses to create their own style with impressive products and services.

He said that it was “a must” to carefully select products for marketing Vietnam’s tourism, such as video clips, tourism publications, cuisine and culture.

Statistics showed that domestic and foreign MICE visitors constantly increased in recently years.

Sai Gon Tourism Corporation (Saigontourist) was a favourite agency for Premier Oil and QBE Insurance foreign MICE tours. Meanwhile, Vietravel had partnered with large firms like Robot, Manulife, 4 Oranges, Sony Vietnam, United Farmar Rich, Massan and Nokia when they organised MICE events.