Saigontourist strives to make Vietnam a destination for high-class Korean MICE guests

Saigontourist Group wishes to make Vietnam a top destination for Korean visitors, especially for meetings, conferences, and corporate incentives (MICE).

General Secretary To Lam and South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min Seok witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements between tourism and aviation units of the two countries: KTO, Saigontourist Group, Vietnam Airlines , SECC, Saigontourist Travel, Hanatour... - Photo: VNA

On the occasion of General Secretary To Lam's visit to Korea, Saigontourist Group has implemented a series of important promotional activities to expand and boost the development of the tourism market in Korea - the leading international tourist market of the Vietnamese tourism industry.

The highlight of the program series is the Vietnam - Korea Economic Forum on August 12, with the participation of General Secretary To Lam and Korean Prime Minister Kim Min Seok.

Chairman of Saigontourist Group, Mr. Pham Huy Binh, said that the company has signed bilateral tourism development cooperation agreements with large corporations and enterprises from Vietnam and Korea. This is a clear demonstration of Saigontourist Group’s commitment to pioneering the expansion of international cooperation and improving the quality of tourism services.

Saigontourist Chairman Pham Huy Binh - Photo: SGT

Korean customers prefer Vietnam

* How do you evaluate Vietnam's advantages in attracting Korean tourists compared to other countries? What should the Vietnamese tourism industry do to attract more effectively and increase value for both the locality and the people?

- South Korea is currently the largest market for Vietnamese tourism. In 2024, there were over 4.6 million South Korean visitors to Vietnam, higher than other major markets in Asia such as China and Japan.

At the Vietnam - Korea Economic Forum, Korean Prime Minister Kim Min Seok said that if 4 international visitors come to Vietnam, there will be 1 Korean visitor.

It can be affirmed that Vietnam has many competitive advantages to attract Korean tourists, notably its close geographical location, many direct flights, short flight time of only about 5 hours and affordable airfares making travel convenient.

In addition, the cost of living, food and services in Vietnam is significantly lower than in Korea, allowing tourists to enjoy a long vacation with more experiences.

There are many Vietnamese tourism products that Korean tourists love. The first is the MICE tour package combining health care and golf in Ho Chi Minh City. The second is the luxury beach resort tour in Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, combined with exploring Vietnamese culture and cuisine.

The third group of products that can attract Korean tourists are tours to experience history, culture - festivals - craft villages, exploiting the depth of Eastern culture and the typical hospitality of Vietnamese people.

Hung Yen route always creates interesting surprises, the birthplace of many famous people, Vietnamese national heroes in the fields of economics, politics, culture and society, still preserves thousands of valuable relics and antiques, is a valuable cultural and historical resource to connect the development of tourism in Vietnam and the world.

To attract Korean visitors more effectively and increase value for both local and local people, Vietnam's tourism industry needs to focus on improving service quality and developing in-depth tourism products.

Specifically, we need to diversify tourism products and services, not just stopping at sea tourism, but also developing cultural, historical, culinary tourism products, combining sports such as golf, adventure tourism, health - beauty, culinary experiences and cultural tourism to meet the diverse needs of tourists.

Second is improving infrastructure and services: Investing in transportation systems, accommodation facilities, and training professional tourism human resources to bring the best experience to tourists.

Third is to strategically promote tourism marketing, focusing on media channels that Korean tourists often use, emphasizing the unique features of Vietnamese culture and cuisine.

Korean tourists take souvenir photos on Nguyen Hue walking street - Photo: QUANG DINH

* What is the current situation of MICE tourism from Korea to Vietnam? What are the causes and measures to promote this type? What are the proposals of Saigontourist Group?

- Vietnam is increasingly attracting more MICE groups from Korea thanks to its cost advantages, improved infrastructure, and diversity of event venues. The Saigontourist Group system annually serves hundreds of international MICE events, serving millions of guests, bringing in hundreds of millions of USD in revenue.

The main reason for the growth of MICE tourism from Korea is the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, along with the increasingly deep and substantial economic and cultural connections.

Through discussions with our Korean partners specializing in this field, they all share the same optimistic view on promoting growth of this source of customers.

However, to further promote this type, it is necessary to focus on solutions such as enhancing the promotion of specialized destinations: promoting Vietnam not only as a regular tourist destination but also as a leading center for organizing events and conferences; developing professional MICE products: building diverse, all-inclusive MICE service packages, combining meetings and exhibitions with cultural experiences, teambuilding and high-class resorts.

During this business trip to Korea, Saigontourist Group and Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement for the period 2025 - 2030 with Coex Exhibition & Convention Center of Korea to jointly exploit customer sources, develop products and promote international MICE tourism.

Specifically, we will cooperate in market research and customer needs, survey and understand trends together to launch suitable products. In addition, we will exchange management and operation experience, optimize processes, improve service quality and expertise.

In addition, develop exhibition and MICE event projects to coordinate the organization of large-scale events, attracting MICE delegations from both countries and from other countries.

Upgrade to attract more high-end MICE guests

* How do Korean partners evaluate Vietnam tourism in general and Saigontourist Group in particular? Do they have any suggestions?

Mr. Pham Huy Binh (middle) - Chairman of Saigontourist Group, Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat (right cover) - General Director of SECC and leaders of Coex Korea at the signing ceremony of MICE tourism cooperation for the period 2025-2030 - Photo: SGT

- This business trip has achieved very positive results, with the highlight being the signing ceremony of bilateral tourism development cooperation between Vietnam and Korea. The partners are very excited and have high expectations.

We have signed many important cooperation agreements with leading Korean partners, including:

- Tripartite cooperation between Saigontourist Group, Vietnam Airlines and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) to promote, market and develop tourism products and flight routes in the period 2025-2030.

- Cooperation between Saigontourist Group, Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) and Coex Exhibition & Convention Center to jointly develop exhibition and MICE projects.

- Cooperation between Saigontourist Travel Service Company, Vietnam Airlines and Hanatour Tourism Group to effectively exploit two-way tourism, promote brands and develop common products.

Korean partners highly appreciate the tourism development potential of Vietnam in general and the capacity and reputation of Saigontourist Group in particular. They see Vietnam as a safe and attractive destination with competitive costs and many unique attractions.

Partners also appreciate Saigontourist Group's professionalism and experience in organizing MICE events and serving large groups of guests.

The partners also made a number of important proposals, emphasizing the need to promote Vietnam’s image as a high-end MICE destination, not just in the low-cost segment. They hope that Vietnam will continue to invest in infrastructure, especially modern convention and exhibition centers, and develop unique MICE tourism products with strong cultural identity.

Saigontourist brings Vietnamese pho to Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan - Photo: SGT

* From Korea's experience in attracting MICE tourism, in your opinion, what are the factors that make them successful that Vietnam in general and Saigontourist Group in particular can apply to attract more of this type of tourism?

- Korea has achieved great success in attracting MICE tourism thanks to the combination of developing modern facilities and leveraging the power of culture and entertainment. Through practical work surveys, we also have more experience.

First, invest in professional MICE infrastructure: Korea has world-class convention and exhibition centers such as COEX. Vietnam needs to continue investing in similar facilities to be able to host major international events.

For Saigontourist Group, we are expanding SECC investment by adding C, D exhibition halls and 5-star hotels to create a strong MICE ecosystem.

Second, take advantage of culture and entertainment industry: The "Hallyu Wave" has made Korea an attractive destination. Vietnam can learn by integrating culture, cuisine (such as Pho festival of Tuoi Tre newspaper, Saigontourist Group's Food Culture Festival...), and traditional arts into MICE programs to create a difference.

Third, there are attractive support policies: The Korean government has many policies to support businesses organizing MICE events, from finance to administrative procedures. This is something that Vietnam can refer to in order to create a more favorable environment for the MICE industry.

Three-way handshake

* How will the cooperation agreement between Saigontourist Group, the Korea Tourism Organization and Vietnam Airlines be realized through policies to attract Korean tourists in the coming time?

Cooperation between Saigontourist Group - KTO - Vietnam Airlines. Second from left: Mr. Pham Huy Binh - Chairman of Saigontourist Group, Mr. Seo Young Choong - Acting General Director of KTO, Mr. Dang Ngoc Hoa - Chairman of Vietnam Airlines - Photo: SGT

- Saigontourist Group, Vietnam Airlines and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) have agreed to sign a cooperation agreement to promote tourism development between Korea and Vietnam through promoting, marketing, expanding tourism products, increasing flight routes... in the period 2025-2030.

This cooperation aims to provide the best service to Vietnamese - Korean customers through sharing and updating full and accurate information about products and services of the parties for Vietnamese - Korean and international tourists, as well as introducing and widely promoting tourist destinations in Vietnam and Korea.

We have been implementing many specific cooperation policies, through taking advantage of the strengths of each party to offer the most attractive product and service packages with the best price policy, developing product packages specifically for the two countries' customer markets and the most unique product packages for individual customers, groups, high-end customers, business customers, MICE customers. Including Vietnam Airlines air tickets, accommodation, cuisine, entertainment, conferences and tours of Saigontourist Group.

* What is Saigontourist Group's goal in attracting MICE tourism from Korea? Does the Corporation have any plans to implement it in the near future and how many groups and total value does it expect to attract this year and the next 5 years?

- Saigontourist Group aims to consolidate its position as the leading MICE service provider for the Korean market. We will continuously improve the quality of our services to meet the strict requirements of MICE groups.

We have a specific implementation plan in the near future, including the implementation of signed cooperation agreements. In terms of figures, although it is difficult to give exact figures, we expect to attract hundreds of MICE delegations from Korea this year, with a total contract value estimated at tens of millions of US dollars.

In the next 5 years, with close cooperation with Korean partners and the development of unique products, we aim for double-digit growth each year in the number of delegations and revenue from the Korean MICE market, aiming to maintain and expand our leading position in this field.

To achieve that goal, in the coming time Saigontourist Group will continue to invest in upgrading infrastructure - MICE services according to international standards.

In addition, integrating the tourism - accommodation - cuisine - transportation service chain of the Saigontourist Group system to serve large-scale events, as well as closely coordinating between Saigontourist Group, COEX and SECC in exploiting the market, organizing events, and using mutual support services.

We will also promote training of high-quality human resources and apply digital technology - smart management to optimize operational efficiency, and strengthen international marketing promotion.

With the increasingly good relationship between the two countries, along with appropriate policies of the business community, we believe that the number of Korean visitors to Vietnam will grow steadily not only in quantity but also in quality, contributing to promoting Vietnam tourism in general and Vietnam MICE tourism in particular.

Korean people at the Vietnam Pho Festival 2024 - Photo: DUYEN PHAN

* It is known that Saigontourist Group has accompanied Tuoi Tre newspaper to organize the event "Vietnam Pho Festival" in Japan and Korea. How do you evaluate this festival and its effectiveness in promoting and attracting tourists to Vietnam in general and Saigontourist Group in particular through the numbers?

- "Vietnam Pho Festival" organized by Saigontourist Group in collaboration with Tuoi Tre newspaper in Japan (2023) and Korea (2024) is an extremely effective initiative to promote Vietnamese culture and cuisine.

The event not only attracted a large number of local people but also created a strong media effect, contributing to enhancing the image of Vietnamese tourism.

The festival’s effectiveness is clearly demonstrated through impressive numbers. In Japan, the event attracted more than 85,000 visitors. This number shows the appeal of Vietnamese cuisine in general and pho in particular to the Japanese.

In Korea, the event continued to create a big buzz, attracting the attention of Korean press and media and about 28,000 visitors, serving as a bridge to help Korean tourists better understand and love Vietnamese culture.

For Saigontourist Group, this festival is not only a brand promotion activity but also an opportunity to introduce our tourism products to international visitors.

Many tourists after participating in the festival expressed their interest and learned about tours to Vietnam, creating new business opportunities for the group. On average, after each event, the number of visitors from that country recognizing the brand and using Saigontourist Group's services increased by over 10% compared to the previous period.

We believe that cultural and culinary events like this are the key to attracting tourists in a sustainable and effective way.

RECRUITING ARMIES

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/saigontourist-no-luc-dua-viet-nam-tro-thanh-diem-den-cho-khach-mice-cap-cao-han-quoc-20250812220705098.htm