Experiential economy boom
The conference was themed "The era of rise of the cultural industry and sports economy". Attending the conference was Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh.
Also attending were: DMG Events General Director Geoff Dickinson; 2 DMG Events Chairmen Christopher Hudson and Matt Denton; Chairman and General Director of Design House Lee Younghye; General Director of Design House Global Cho Sangyeon along with leaders of many businesses, experts, directors, leading agencies and representatives of organizations shaping the global MICE industry.
According to the organizers, the event is positioned as an important macro forum for the exhibition, event and advertising industry in 2026, aiming to establish an international standard reference system and create a closed value chain for Vietnam's cultural and sports economic industry.
2025 is assessed as a turning point for Vietnam's experience industry when the advertising market reaches a scale of about 3.5 billion USD, forecast to grow 12% per year in the period 2025-2031. Meanwhile, the MICE market reaches about 6 billion USD, forecast to grow 6% per year in the period 2026-2031.
According to experts, this growth is associated with the process of upgrading transport infrastructure and logistics. The North-South expressway system is connected, and the capacity of international airports is upgraded, creating conditions for international music festivals, trade promotion exhibitions and large-scale tourists to flock to Vietnam.
In addition, the advertising industry is also witnessing a strong shift from traditional display forms to experiential, highly interactive advertising, AI applications and user behavior data. Brands are increasingly prioritizing direct "touch points" with customers instead of just running after display indicators.
However, the rapid development of the industry also poses many challenges. According to the organizers, Vietnam is currently still lacking international standard organizing spaces, the chain of auxiliary service supply is still limited, and a set of global operating standards for mega-events has not been formed. This is considered a obstacle that makes Vietnam miss many opportunities to host major events.
Speaking at the conference, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh emphasized that in the journey to realize the goal of making Vietnam a developed country with high income by 2045, culture is not only a spiritual foundation but also increasingly affirms its role as an "endogenous resource, development driving force and soft power of the nation".
According to the Minister, Resolution No. 80 of the Politburo for the first time identifies the cultural industry as a strategic economic sector, setting a target of contributing about 7% of GDP by 2030 and about 9% of GDP by 2045. Along with that, Resolution No. 28 of the National Assembly paves the way for removing bottlenecks in mechanisms and policies, while strongly mobilizing social resources, especially the private sector for cultural development.
These are very important shifts in development thinking, creating a foundation and conditions for Vietnam's cultural industry to develop breakthroughly in the coming time," Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh affirmed.
Building an international standard event ecosystem
One of the key contents of the conference is to build a strategy for developing an exhibition, event and advertising ecosystem according to international standards, combining policy orientation and the leadership capacity of the private sector.
Dr. Can Van Luc - Chief Economist of BIDV, member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council - said that it is necessary to soon complete the policy corridor to promote the entire industry's sustainable development, creating a launching pad for the Vietnam experience economy in the coming period.
Meanwhile, Ms. Pham Thai Ha - Managing Director of VEC - said that projects such as the Vietnam Exhibition Center, Ho Guom Theater, PVF Stadium or Hung Vuong Stadium will contribute to attracting global events, making culture and sports a platform to improve quality of life and promote economic growth.
In the field of international exhibitions, Mr. Geoff Dickinson - CEO of DMG Events - shared about the trend of establishing global B2B exhibition standards with a "one-stop" operating model, synchronously meeting logistics, security and hospitality requirements for large-scale events.
Meanwhile, Mr. Jason Yan - representative of Ultra Worldwide - said that Vietnam needs to meet strict standards on venues, technical capacity and risk management if it wants to become a destination for international world tours.
In parallel with international standards, many domestic experts such as Director of the Department of Performing Arts Nguyen Xuan Bac and directors Hoang Cong Cuong, Blonde Nguyen, Cao Ngan Ha or Nguyen Viet Thanh also discussed building events with Vietnamese DNA through the combination of cultural heritage, real-scene art and modern brand thinking.
In the field of advertising and experience marketing, Mr. Le Viet Hai Son - CEO of Chicilon Media - said that the advertising industry is shifting from display measurement thinking to "attention per second", focusing on the quality of user attention in each moment of experience.
Ms. Nguyen Luu Nhat Tan - CEO of TBWA Group Vietnam - believes that brands today no longer only convey one-way messages but are aiming to turn customers into "co-creators" in brand experiences.
The Experiential Marketing seminar co-organized by expert Le Quoc Vinh with the participation of representatives of Green SM, One Mount and TikTok also offered many perspectives on turning customer emotions into data and revenue in the experience economy era.
According to the organizers, the series of activities of the conference will be followed by Vietnam Exhibition & Event Week 2026 (VEEW 2026) and the VECA Awards announcement ceremony - the first professional award for the field of exhibitions and events in Vietnam.
