Vietnam promotes tourism options at top trade fair in Indonesia

With a 54-sq.m pavilion, themed “Vietnam-Timeless charm” and “Live fully in Vietnam”, the country aims to lure visitors, while helping travel firms resume connectivity with their partners after the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also spotlights the 2023 national tourism year to be hosted by the south-central province of Binh Thuan, home to the beach resort town of Mui Ne.

TRAVEX is one of the most important activities within ATF 2023, attracting the attention of international partners, businesses and tourists.

As the biggest annual tourism event in the ASEAN region, the ATF is attended by top industry policy makers, practitioners and suppliers of ASEAN-based tourism products and services.

Hanan Romyah, representative of an Indonesian travel company, told the Vietnam News Agency that Vietnam’s tourism potential abounds, suggesting Vietnam and Indonesia launch more direct flights to facilitate people’s travelling.

According to Dinh Ngoc Duc, head of the market department at the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, TRAVEX offers an opportunity for Vietnam to restore markets and promote a variety of tourism products. These options include maritime tourism, cultural tourism, culinary tourism, eco-tourism, medical tourism and MICE tourism (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions).

According to data from the ASEAN Secretariat, in 2019, international tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia reached 143.5 million, accounting for 9.6% of the global international tourists. The growth rate reached 6.1%, 2.1% higher than the world's average rate.

For Vietnam, ASEAN is one of the most important markets and partners. In 2019, visitors from ASEAN to the country hit nearly 2.1 million, accounting for about 11.6% of the total number of international arrivals to the nation.