As one of the businesses participating in the Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair (ITE HCMC) in 2025, Mr. Nguyen Khoa Luan - Director of Viet Hop on Hop off Photo Company said that the business had signed cooperation agreements with about 20 international travel agencies on the first day of the fair. This is a positive signal, promising to open up many new opportunities for tourism in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general to break through more strongly in the coming time.
On September 4, the 2025 ITE HCMC Fair, the 2025 Export Forum and the International Supply Chain Connection event officially opened at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC).
3 major international events were held at the same time and at the same time, Ho Chi Minh City hosted the 12th Congress of the Global Urban Tourism Promotion Organization (TPO) - Strong integrated Flow.
This series of events is not only good for the MICE tourism industry, but also helps connect tourism with trade, logistics, and exports. At the same time, it creates a total economic - tourism week, both attracting visitors and enhancing Ho Chi Minh City's international position.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that this year's ITE HCMC Fair is a special milestone, the position of Ho Chi Minh City after the merger is considered a new "super urban area, a beacon", playing the role of a locomotive, leading the economic - cultural - tourism center of the region. This is the "growth spearhead" of the whole country.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism highly appreciates the role of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and related partners in creating a professional playground for tourism businesses and localities, thereby promoting the development of the tourism industry.
In particular, local leaders must truly be "conductors", both maintaining a stable rhythm and creating a breakthrough to continue to strongly innovate thinking and promotion methods, taking businesses as the center in product development, the State playing the role of creating an environment and support policies.
At the same time, deploy the apparatus in a streamlined, efficient and efficient manner, promptly handling all difficulties and problems in accordance with the motto "Ministry of Instruction - Department Accompanying - For a common mission".
Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee said that after merging with Ba Ria - Vung Tau province and Binh Duong province, Ho Chi Minh City has an area of 6,773 km2, equivalent to 2.04% of the country's area.
Ho Chi Minh City has become a super urban area - the largest economic, financial, logistics, trade, service and tourism center in the country with a population of nearly 14 million people. The city currently accounts for 26.3% of total retail sales of goods and services, more than VND 200,000 billion in tourism revenue, equivalent to 25% of the country.
Mr. Dung said that this is the first time that the three major flows of tourism, trade and international integration have been connected into a series of large-scale and synchronous events, demonstrating close inter-level and inter-sectoral coordination.
This year, the event brings together more than 520 units and brands, with the participation of 28 provinces and cities across the country with booths participating in the exhibition. The fair welcomes more than 250 high-end international buyers from 32 countries and territories, promising to open more than 12,000 trade appointments and welcome nearly 30,000 visitors.
Honored as the Best Trade Exhibition in Asia, ITE HCMC 2025 continues to affirm its role as the only tourism promotion event in Vietnam with the International Buyers program.
