The 17th Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo (ITE HCMC 2023), scheduled for next month, is expected to double in size compared to 2022 following the approval of Vietnam’s amended visa policy, Le Truong Hien Hoa, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said at a press conference held for the event on Tuesday.

According to the new visa policy, which came into effect on Monday, the visa exemption for citizens from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Belarus was amended to allow visits of up to 45 days, rather than 15 days, regardless of passport type or purpose of entry, assuming visitors meet Vietnam’s standard entry requirements.

The Vietnamese government on Monday also issued a resolution to grant e-visas to citizens from all countries and territories.

According to Hoa, while Vietnam’s new visa policies are essential to boosting tourism, additional comprehensive measures are necessary to enhance the appeal of the country and increase its allure to global markets.

The ITE HCMC 2023, set to take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in District 7 from September 7 to 9, is designed to center around enhancing and advancing commercial activities to establish connections with existing tourism markets and explore new opportunities.

The expo will allocate resources for the development of strategies to create and refresh tourism offerings for longer stays in the country, catering to markets with higher spending capacities, visitors who desire long-term stays, and an elevated level of professionalism in tourism operations.

These initiatives are intended to align with the government’s objective of positioning Vietnam among the top 30 countries worldwide in terms of tourism competitiveness.

In order to capitalize on the more permissive visa policies, this year’s ITE is expected to undergo a significant enlargement, with the exhibition and booth space increasing two-fold in comparison to 2022.

The anticipated participation of over 150 international buyers from across 31 countries and regions is set to facilitate more than 6,000 business-to-business (B2B) trade appointments between buyers and exhibitors.

The event is projected to draw interest from over 400 exhibitors and tourism promotion organizations and bureaus, including those from St. Petersburg, Russia; Seoul, South Korea; Vietnamese tourism associations; travel agencies; tour operators; lodging establishments; airlines; and transportation entities. 

The expo will welcome ordinary guests from 4:00 pm until closing on September 7 and 8 and all day on September 9.

Last year, the ITE HCMC 2022 featured 276 booths, representing 305 entities over a span of three days.

The edition saw 161 international buyers from 28 countries and territories engage in approximately 8,600 B2B meetings.

Additionally, there were 21 international press agencies in attendance, along with 42 participating Vietnamese provinces and cities.

The event successfully held over 20 forums, conferences, seminars, and ancillary activities featuring 60 distinguished speakers and esteemed local and international tourism specialists as well as over 2,500 attendees.

Vietnam welcomed nearly 6.6 million foreign tourists during the first seven months of this year, with the figure for Ho Chi Minh City surpassing 2.3 million, marking a three-fold climb compared to the same period in 2022, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

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