With nine per cent of Vietnam’s GDP coming from tourism, VNAT is promoting the mainstays of beaches, culture and nature while provincial authorities such as Danang in central Vietnam are also courting business events.
The Danang Department of Tourism is increasing promotional activities to attract more MICE business. In 2023, Danang received 163 MICE groups totalling 45,344 visitors. This January to March, there were 25 MICE groups with about 9,510 participants, mainly from Asia, but Australia’s presence is growing.
Ariyana Convention Centre Danang was the venue for an Asia Pacific gastroenterology conference with 250 delegates in April. Meanwhile, the Southeast Asia Iron and Steel Institute Conference and Exhibition drew more than 500 attendees in May.
“Many APAC conferences also attract Australian delegates,” noted Hoàng Vĩnh Sang, Ariyana’s assistant director of sales.
“Last September, we had a buy-out event at Furama – Ariyana Tourism Complex by Australia-headquartered Employment Hero for its Global Gathering 2023. A large proportion of the 700 attendees were Australian.
“The Australian market is picking up. However, the biggest obstacle is the lack of direct flights. We are actively working with Danang Tourism Promotion Centre to participate in joint efforts to promote the city to the global market, including Australia.”
While there are many direct flights to Danang from Asian cities, travellers from Australia and New Zealand must connect to domestic flights in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi.
Nonetheless, air connectivity has improved significantly with Vietjet flying to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide from Ho Chi Minh City. This month, it mounted twice-weekly flights from Hanoi to Melbourne and Sydney, making its tally 58 flights weekly between Vietnam and Australia.
To ride the visitation wave, several Danang hotels have undertaken refurbishment.
Meliá Danang Beach Resort has undergone a major renovation and expansion. It now has 521 rooms and suites and new MICE facilities. There are three ballrooms, the largest seating 600 pax theatre style or 420 at a banquet and the smallest seating 250 and 180 pax respectively, in similar configuration.
Seven smaller meeting rooms allow classroom layouts ranging from 12 to 160 pax and cocktails for 18 to 180 pax.
The hotel is offering a 15 per cent discount on full-day meeting packages until December 30, 2024 with prices starting from the equivalent of AU$53 per person – significantly cheaper than many of the day delegate rates advertised in Sydney and Melbourne.
On MICE trends and other popular destinations in Vietnam, Luxperia said it has seen both incentives and meetings combined, with Hoi An being a favourite among Australians.
ASIA DMC said some companies add golf to their meeting and incentive programs. An 80-pax group it handled in March included golf in its Ho Chi Minh City itinerary. The Hanoi – Halong pairing is also still popular.
“We ran a five-nights/six-days program in Hanoi – Halong Bay in May for a 225-pax F&B industry group from Australia and New Zealand. Highlights included an overnight boat stay and gala dinner in a cave in Halong Bay,” said ASIA DMC’s general manager Subhash Chandar.
