Int’l travel fair organizer drums up investment

      The organizer of the fifth international travel expo in HCMC in October will highlight investment opportunities in the region’s hospitality sector by hosting an investment conference with the participation of key stakeholders, a source said.
La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of HCMC’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told reporters here on Wednesday that participants in the conference would get an insight into potentials and opportunities in the Indochina region.
“The conference will take place here on September 30 and October 1, attracting some 100 foreign investors, bankers as well as high-ranking officials from tourism and investment ministries of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam,” he said. He stressed the conference would put forward master plans in developing tourism in the three countries as well as projects calling for investors.
The investment conference will be a strong boon for those attending the fifth international travel expo, as potential investors will have a chance to meet with project owners directly for further discussion on such projects, he noted.
Participants in the conference will be invited to the opening ceremony of the travel expo for better understanding about the tourism industry of the three countries.
“We think that we can attract the attention of more investors to tourism investment opportunities in Indochina countries,” Khanh said.
The international travel expo with the theme “To meet in another world” will open from October 1 to 3 in Phu Tho Exhibition Center.
Like the last four annual events, the expo will showcase tourism services and products, and include meetings between buyers and sellers, and familiarization trips for international travel agents and media among others.
The first FAM trip, however, will be organized late this month for a group of 20 from international media like CNN and Australia Television.
The organizer expects this year’s event would attract 150 foreign buyers and 300 local and foreign sellers, up 30% compared to last year’s event.
He said that Vietnam Airlines and United Airlines have pledged to invite more to come to the event and even sponsors airfares for some international buyers to attend the expo. United Airlines alone will invite around 20 American buyers.
Nguyen Bao Anh of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism told the press meeting that the organizer has started seconding invitation letters to buyers selected from its mailing list of 2,000 travel buyers around of the world.
Around 60 to 70 buyers have registered online to join the travel expo.
Anh said that the organizing committee this year cannoned its attention to more segments of the tourism industry including healthcare tourism, tourism for young people, and adventure tourism.
The national tourism event is organized by the National Administration of Tourism, HCMC’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vinexad and IIR Exhibition Pte Ltd.