MICE customers increase sharply, spending trend is increasing
MICE tourism (tourism combined with conferences, seminars, awards, events) continues to become a bright spot of Vietnam's tourism industry and Ho Chi Minh City in 2026. Records from travel businesses show that the demand of this customer segment is increasing both in quantity and spending.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu - Marketing - Communications Director of Vietluxtour Company - said that in the first 2 quarters of 2026, the MICE tourism market recorded strong momentum with the number of visitors increasing by about 35% compared to the same period last year.
Not only increasing in quantity, the spending trend of MICE customers has also changed a lot. Currently, this group of customers is willing to pay 25 - 40% higher for personalized and high-end experiences. Instead of dense schedules, the trend of "Bleisure" (combining work and relaxation) and "Wellness MICE" (MICE combined with health care, medical tourism) is increasingly popular.
The services that MICE customers choose the most include staying at 5-star resort complexes with separate conference spaces, technology-applied gala dinners and in-depth health care programs.
Regarding the MICE tourism market in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Bao Thu said that Ho Chi Minh City is the economic and tourism locomotive of the whole country, clearly oriented by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism to become a leading destination in Asia. To make Ho Chi Minh City break through and enhance its fair competitive position compared to MICE tourism developed countries in the region, the city needs to synergize and promote its strengths.
Ho Chi Minh City needs to develop more international-scale fair and exhibition centers with a capacity of over 10,000 visitors, meeting the requirements of organizing world-class conferences, exhibitions and events. At the same time, promote the advantages of the hospital system and high-quality medical facilities to form a MICE ecosystem combining medical tourism, developing conference products associated with health screening, beauty care and resorts, thereby creating a different competitive advantage and bringing in large foreign currency revenue.
Diversifying products, improving destination competitiveness
In fact, in the first 6 months of 2026, MICE tourism continued to affirm Ho Chi Minh City's position as the leading event, conference, and seminar center in the country. The city successfully welcomed an international MICE delegation of nearly 900 people from Indonesia, contributing to promoting the destination's image and attracting the segment of high-spending customers.
According to Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, one of the pillars of the industry's development is to effectively exploit historical and cultural values and existing relic systems. In parallel, the city promotes the advantages of a riverine city, developing waterway tourism combined with shopping tourism, night economy and many unique types of experiences.
After expanding administrative boundaries, Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry also takes advantage of the strengths in resources of previous localities such as Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau to complete the product ecosystem, including MICE tourism.
In the coming time, in addition to maintaining traditional markets, Ho Chi Minh City will promote promotion in North America, Australia and many other potential markets, and at the same time, strengthen attracting foreign investment capital into the tourism sector to improve products and enhance the competitiveness of destinations.
The goal of the tourism industry is not only to increase the number of visitors but also to extend the length of stay, increase spending and enhance the tourist experience" - Mr. Hoa emphasized.
