The organizers of the annual International Travel Expo in HCMC expect the event in September will promote tourism in the Indochina countries of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam given stronger participation than previous editions.
Under the theme “Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the three countries, one destinationâ€, the event will feature a tourism exhibition, meetings between travel buyers and sellers, free-show tours and seminars.
The sixth annual event will take place from September 30 to October 2 at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center in Phu My Hung District 7 instead of at the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in District 11 in the past to accommodate more exhibitors.
The organizers said they expected the event to have as many as 236 booths from local and international exhibitors, up 80 booths compared to last year’s event. The number of foreign buyers this year also increases by 40 to nearly 150, according to the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the main organizer.
Alongside the exhibition will be the ASEAN Tourism Investment forum, Tourism Alliance Awards and the ITE HCMC 2010 Golf Tournament. Familiarization trips will be organized for foreign guests to explore tourist attractions and services.
Via the event in 2007, tourism ministers of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia inked a joint declaration on tourism cooperation to make the three countries a common destination for international tourists. The purpose of promoting the single destination will also be stressed at the travel expo.
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has recognized the yearly event as the national travel event to attract international buyers to the country, and pledged to join hands in organizing the event.
The city’s tourism department is also collaborating with IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd and VINEAX to organize the international travel expo.