ITE HCMC surpasses record with 350 exhibitors & 30,000 expected visitors for its 15th year

To celebrate its 15th-year milestone, the International Travel Expo, Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC) is introducing a bundle of new features and special highlights to make the annual event an even more spectacular one for the expected record-high attendance.

ITE HCMC held its first show in 2005 with two international pavilions from Thailand and Cambodia, 43 buyers, and 86 booths. Most of the exhibitors were local enterprises.

Today, it has grown to become the largest and most established travel event in Vietnam and the Mekong sub-region. This year, more than 350 exhibitors and 30,000 visitors are expected, with 250 international buyers, 50 outbound Vietnamese buyers, and a record number of 40 hosted media.

Confirmed exhibitors

The show is welcoming back exhibitors who have participated in the event for the last 15 years, such as Vietnam Airlines and Cambodia Ministry of Tourism.

Over 45 Vietnamese cities and provinces, such as Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Da Nang, Hanoi, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Quang Nam, and Thua Thien – Hue, Can Tho, Hau Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, An Giang, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, Tiền Giang, Long An, Quang Binh, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phú Thọ, Yên Bái, Lào Cai, Hà Giang, Lai Châu, Điện Biên, Sơn La và Hòa Bình , Daklac, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Kon Tum, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Dong Thap will be represented in the show.

Also exhibiting are national tourism organisations from countries such as China, Gangwon, India, Japan, Lao, Malaysia, Seoul, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.

New features

Firstly, the exhibition space has been expanded to two halls, and operating hours will extend from 9am to 7pm on all three days of the event.

What’s more, public visitors can now enter the show to shop for the best travel packages from 4pm onwards on the first and second day, and the entire day on the third. In previous editions, public visitors visited the show only on the last day.

ITE HCMC—to be held on 5 – 7 September at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre (SECC)—features services and products for both inbound and outbound markets, allowing leading brands in the tourism and hospitality sectors to showcase their latest products and services, source for quality agents and distributors, and expand their business into Vietnam and the Mekong sub-region.

This year, to mark the 15th anniversary show, there will be even more impactful networking opportunities, such as customised business matching services, speed “dating” sessions, and pre-scheduled business meetings.

Exhibitors and Buyers can also look forward to numerous informative seminars by industry experts; a spectacular Opening Ceremony; an exquisite Gala Dinner with the theme of Soulful Vietnam; and other exciting networking events.

Corporate Travel Forum

Another special highlight not to be missed for is the Corporate Travel Forum, organised by Corporate Travel Community, which will be held on 4 September, 2pm – 4pm at the SECC.

Bespoke speakers in the regional corporate travel community will cover topics like the Relationship Between Corporate Travel and MICE; An Introduction of Strategic Meetings Management Programme; and The Myths of Corporate Travel Management.

The speakers include:

– Catherine Craig, Head of Corporate Travel Relations, Corporate Travel Community | Aviation Week Network;

– Adriana Nainggolan, Travel Program Manager APAC, Autodesk;

– Dr. Benson Tang, Director of Corporate Travel, Informa Markets;

– Michael Molloy, Category Leader – Travel and Expense Management, Procurement, Rio Tinto; and

– Derek Ho, Regional Vice President, Global & Strategic Sales – Asia Oceania, JAL

Tourism Start-Up Pavilion

The Tourism Start-Up Pavilion is especially relevant today as both travellers and tourism operators alike rely even more on technology and the Internet to plan their trips and conduct their daily business operations.

This year, as a special feature in the 15th anniversary show, exhibitors will offer services such as better security for travellers and their transactions, better payment models for merchants and consumers, automation in hotels and resorts, as well as personalisation of the travel and hospitality experience.

Interested buyers and visitors can also attend a forum on start-up tourism on 4 September at the Rex Hotel Saigon.

Staple Show Features

This year’s edition of ITE HCMC will continue with its staple show features that have become hallmarks of the event.

These include the International Hosted Buyers and Hosted Media Programme. This year, there will be more than 250 international buyers who are outbound travel agents from over 40 countries and territories, especially in the four key areas of North America, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and Western Europe, as well as 50 outbound Vietnamese buyers.

There will also be 40 hosted media (online, trade, and travel media and bloggers) from 14 countries such as Australia, China, Dubai, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

In addition, the complimentary Online Matching System will be opened one month before the event for buyers and exhibitors to find the best matches and schedule B2B meetings in advance.

ITE HCMC Awards 2019

To thank exhibitors for their support and to add a fun element to the event, the organisers will hold the ITE HCMC Awards, giving out tokens of appreciation and commendation in three categories.

The ITE Partner Recognition Award (Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Bronze) will be given to tourism businesses that have contributed to and supported the International Buyers and Media in the event.

The ITE Exhibitor Award will be given to local and international government organisations that participated in the event.

The Best Booth Design Award will be given to exhibitors with the most impressive booth design.

Insightful seminars

An extensive range of astute and concise seminars targeted to keep industry players updated with the latest news and trends will also be held over the three days of the show.

The seminars and forums include:

– Ho Chi Minh City & Mekong Delta Tourism Connection Forum: Conference on investment promotion into culture, sports and tourism infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces in the Mekong;

– Ho Chi Minh City & Mekong Delta Tourism Connection Forum: Seminar on connecting and developing tourism products and cooperation in human resource training, and promoting tourism between Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta;

– Ho Chi Minh City & Mekong Delta Tourism Connection Forum: Summit conference on development tourism linkage between Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta;

– Start-up Tourism Forum;

– Seminar on Medical Tourism;

– Forum on Corporate Travel Trend;

– Conference on Vietnam – Russia Tourism Cooperation;

– Seminar on Vietnam – Middle East Tourism Cooperation;

– Seminar on The Rise of the Solo Traveler;

– Seminar on Vietnam – Korea Tourism Cooperation;

– International Conference on Smart Tourism Development in Ho Chi Minh City