HANOI, 14 January 2019: Organisers of the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2019 scheduled for 27 to 30 March in Hanoi, say the event will adopt a green theme.
Hosted by Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA), the annual expo will feature a forum for the first time on green and sustainable tourism.
The organisers have also pledged to make the trade show more sustainable by reducing single-use plastics and adopting other measures to green the show.
Registration is open for travel content suppliers from across 39 provinces and cities in Vietnam and 22 countries and territories worldwide.
Technically the show is a mix of travel content for overseas buyers interested in creating tours of Vietnam but due to a strong consumer interest in the show from Hanoi residents, outbound travel particularly to Asian destinations is also promoted.
For the outbound market around 18,000 tour packages will be up for grabs and airlines are offering discounts on around 40,000 tickets.
Forums will operate on the sidelines of the show and one on green tourism is gaining interest as Vietnam faces challenges to manage and conserve heritage and nature at popular destinations.
Over the four-day show attendance should exceed 1,000 for the forums and trade component of the travel show.
A forum on Vietnam’s outbound tourism will discuss hot topics on how to gain a bigger market slice as tourism grows at around 15 to 20% annually.
A job fair will run on the sidelines of the travel show, while VITM 2019 will include an international street food festival and art performances.
VITA Vice Chairman Vu The Binh estimated that VITM will attract 85,000 visitors, this year, when travel consumers are included. Last year, the event attracted around 80,000 visitors to the main hall of the city’s International Exhibition Centre.
