Spring Fair 2026: Elevating the quality of Vietnamese trade fairs based on international experience.

Vietnam is gradually establishing a series of seasonal trade fairs as an important component of its new trade promotion strategy.

The Spring Fair 2026 successfully promoted product brands, regional images, and fostered a sense of pride among the people for Vietnamese products. Photo: Minh Quyet/TTXVN

The goal is not just to stimulate the domestic market, but to build a regional trade connection platform, gradually integrating Vietnamese businesses into global supply chains through the Spring Fair 2026.

In an interview with a VNA reporter, Mr. Bok Dug Gyou, Deputy Director of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Head of the Korea Desk at the Trade Promotion Bureau, shared South Korea's experience in supporting businesses and helping trade fairs truly generate export value.

Based on South Korea's experience, what are the key factors that make a trade fair truly generate export orders, instead of just showcasing and introducing products?

For a trade fair to truly generate export orders, the fundamental element is to have a strategy to attract foreign buyers interested in the country's products, while also organizing supporting events to facilitate direct business connections.

In Korea, through KOTRA's overseas office network, we proactively invite potential buyers to attend trade fairs and simultaneously organize "Export Purchasing Business Matching Conferences." When a buyer can visit dozens of booths and work with multiple businesses at the same event, the economic benefits generated far exceed the initial cost of inviting them to attend.

In my opinion, the difference lies in the fact that trade fairs should not only be places to "showcase products," but should also become "spaces for making purchasing decisions."

How do trade promotion agencies like KOTRA typically support businesses before, during, and after trade fairs to ensure that business-to-business (B2B) meetings actually translate into export contracts?

To achieve tangible export results, one should not wait until the last minute before the trade fair to seek buyers. It is necessary to proactively search for buyers related to the exhibited product category early on, prioritizing partners with proven capabilities and purchasing needs.

In parallel, early connections between businesses and buyers are crucial before the trade fair takes place. This transforms initial introductions into discussions leading to final decisions based on prior exchanges.

During the trade fair, it's essential to organize business networking sessions so that even businesses without booths have the opportunity to connect with partners. Professional interpreters, pre-prepared agreement templates, and on-site contract signing and consultation spaces are also crucial factors.

After the trade fair concludes, overseas branches of businesses need to actively conduct post-trade audits and maintain contact with buyers who have returned home to ensure that negotiations reach a final conclusion.

In the context of Vietnam building a series of seasonal trade fairs, what do you think are the key factors for these fairs to not only serve the domestic market but also become a platform for connecting regional and global supply chains?

The most important factor is to elevate the trade fair from a domestic scale to a truly international one. To achieve this, diverse incentive mechanisms are needed to strongly attract foreign businesses and buyers.

We should prepare with the mindset of organizing a World Expo, striving to attract partners at least from the ASEAN region. While these efforts may not yield breakthrough results in the first 1-2 years, with persistence and a 5-10 year vision, Vietnam can absolutely nurture these exhibitions into events representing the ASEAN region or even Asia.

I appreciate the infrastructure of the Vietnam Exhibition Center (VEC), but filling that infrastructure requires a long-term strategy and commensurate investment. The Vietnamese government has made a very good start by coordinating with localities at the national level. I hope that in the future, this series of fairs will develop into a joint event of the entire ASEAN bloc. Furthermore, since South Korea, China, and Japan are cooperating very actively within the framework of "ASEAN+3," leveraging support from the governments of these three countries would also be a very effective approach.

Thank you very much, sir!

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/hoi-cho-mua-xuan-2026-nang-chat-hoi-cho-viet-nam-tu-kinh-nghiem-quoc-te-20260214210953189.htm