The expo attracted more than 400 domestic and international tourism brands while selecting 199 international buyers from 42 countries and territories that are Vietnam's key and potential inbound tourism markets, such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Poland, the US, France, Malaysia, and New Zealand.

Upon addressing the opening ceremony, Phan Van Mai, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, emphasized that Vietnamese tourism in general and Ho Chi Minh City tourism in particular has seen positive signs of tourism recovery and development.

Over the past eight months of the year, the southern city welcomed nearly 25 million visitors, including three million international visitors, reaching 63% compared to the figures from 2019 with tourism revenue reaching more than VND100,000 billion.

These impressive results can be attributed to significant contributions from international co-operation on tourism among countries in the region over recent times.

Furthermore, along with other tourism promotion programmes, ITE HCMC has also contributed to accelerating the growth of foreign arrivals to Vietnam, increasing the flow of visitors among countries, boosting tourism revenue, as well as strengthening trade exchange activities.

The municipal leader suggested that the southern metropolis' tourism industry is required to focus on updating information and market forecasts in order to increase the number of visitors and tourism revenue moving forward.

In particular, the tourism industry must properly assess unpredictable developments occurring in the domestic and foreign markets, as well as devising a timely approach to accelerate the tourism industry, he noted. 

ITE HCMC 2023, which will run until September 9, is projected to attract 25,000 visitors with a diverse array of activities on offer such as conferences, seminars, and trade connections.