MICE travel booms in Da Nang

Ben Thanh Tourist and Saigontourist last May organized a conference and entertainment program for nearly 1,300 Oriflame workers at Sun World Da Nang Wonders. 

Also in May, Furama Da Nang served two groups of 4,000 guests from World Team Builder. In April, TravelMart served 1,300 MICE tourists who came to Da Nang to attend a workshop, carry out team building activities, and visit famous tourist sites.

These big groups kicked off the 2018 MICE tourism season in Da Nang which will last until September. 

Businesses and institutions choose to organize events in Da Nang because of the favorable weather conditions in the central region. 

Nguyen Duc Quynh, deputy general director of Furama Resort, said Da Nang has beautiful beaches, landscapes, modern facilities and good transport system. 

According to Nguyen Nhu Nam, deputy CEO of TravelMart, Da Nang has quality standard accommodations and conference centers for MICE tourists. The Ariyana Conference Center last year was chosen to organize the APEC 2017 Economic Leaders' Week (AELW)

Hanoi, HCMC and Da Nang are the three biggest domestic MICE markets for his firms. Every year, TravelMart serves 7,000-8,000 MICE travelers.

Timothy Nicholas Quarm, CEO of Novotel Danang Premier Han River, said that many businesses choose Da Nang as the destination for MICE tourism. Most recently, three international companies decided to organize conferences and annual events at the hotel.

While Da Nang has great potential to attract MICE tourists, its capacity to serve the guests remains limited. 

If many groups of tourists come at the same time, the city will lack accommodations. Ariyana is the only international conference center capable of containing over 1,000 guests, while conference rooms at hotels and resorts can contain 200-500 guests only.

Nguyen Thuy Thuan, director of Ben Thanh Tourism, Da Nang Branch, confirmed that a high number of foreign travelers come to Da Nang in summer, so it is difficult to book hotel rooms for MICE travelers.

Meanwhile, Quynh said it is a challenge to provide transport services to 2,000 travelers with 50 buses and 30 electric vehicles.

“We had to cover a lot of work to be sure that travelers could travel easily and come to meetings on time,” he said.

According to the Da Nang Tourism Department, in 2018, the city received 6.6 million travelers, a 19 percent increase over the same period last year.

RELATED NEWS

MICE tourism: a huge opportunity for Vietnam

MICE - big cheese for Ho Chi Minh City tourism

Thanh Lich