Tapping into potential of MICE tourism in Dong Nai

MICE tourism is a form of tourism that combines events, conferences, incentive activities, and other programs organized by units and businesses for their employees and partners.

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Vo Tan Duc (2nd from right) and delegates tour the exhibition area promoting culture and tourism at the 2025 Provincial Tourism Association Congress held at The Mira Central Park hotel. Photo: Ngoc Lien

In recent years, this tourism model has grown quite strongly. In Dong Nai, as one of the country's leading provinces in industrial development and an important gateway to the Southeast region, with a transport infrastructure system methodically planned for synchronized development, the province is becoming a magnet for domestic and international investors. This feature also presents an opportunity for the tourism sector, including MICE tourism.

Rapid development trend

Recently, Dong Nai has frequently hosted conferences, seminars, investment, trade, and tourism promotion programs. These events have attracted a large number of domestic and foreign businesses interested in exploring the investment environment in Dong Nai.

To meet the practical demands of the market, many tourist areas, attractions, and hotels in the province have participated in implementing MICE tourism programs, such as: the 5-star The Mira Central Park hotel (Central Park, Tam Hiep Ward); Golden Lotus Convention and Wedding Center (Tran Bien Ward); Dong Nai Hotel and the 4-star Aurora Hotel (Tam Hiep Ward); Buu Long Tourist Area (Tran Bien Ward); Son Tien Ecological Tourist City (Long Hung Ward)... have invested in infrastructure to exploit the province's potential.

As the first and only 5-star hotel in Dong Nai to date, The Mira Central Park has become a key venue for meetings between provincial leaders, government agencies, and business partners. According to Tu Nguyen Phuc, Deputy General Manager of The Mira Central Park Hotel, the hotel has hosted numerous international delegations, experts, and corporate events from Asia and Europe, as well as central government delegations working in Dong Nai who need to organize conferences, seminars, and company events...

Central Park's advantage lies in its capacity to provide conference rooms. Currently, The Mira Central Park has 4 halls, each capable of accommodating 1,000 participants at a time. To retain tourists, Central Park has a system of over 200 accommodation rooms, capable of serving over 400 guests simultaneously. In addition, Central Park also pays attention to offering a diverse range of dishes suited to the tastes of different regions and countries around the world. According to Phuc, Dong Nai has the potential to develop MICE tourism. In recent times, Dong Nai has welcomed many investors to learn about and organize seminars and trade connections, which is an opportunity for MICE tourism in the province to grow. A typical example is that over the past two years, MICE tourism at Central Park has recorded significant growth of about 20% compared with the period before 2024.

Nguyen Danh Thinh, Acting Director of Buu Long Tourist Area, said that in recent years, the tourist area has also achieved noteworthy results in MICE tourism activities. According to Thinh, when visiting Buu Long Tourist Area, units can both organize conferences and exchanges and freely visit and check in within the tourist area, which features natural scenery and lakes likened to a miniature Ha Long Bay of the South...

Unlocking MICE tourism potential

Dong Nai's tourism industry continues to pursue the goal of developing tourism into an important economic sector, contributing to the province's GRDP growth and job creation. Dong Nai is promoting regional linkages, attracting investment, and developing a skilled, professional tourism workforce to meet current market demands.

The discussion space at Co Dau Restaurant, Buu Long Tourist Area.

For MICE tourism, Dong Nai still has much room for development. In particular, after Long Thanh Airport becomes operational, it will become a central hub promoting the development of economic models, including sightseeing, shopping, conference, and seminar tourism.

Speaking at the scientific workshop "Orientation for Dong Nai Province's Tourism Development in the New Context" organized by the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee in mid-March, MSc. Do Le Phuc Tam, a representative of the expert group from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, said that Dong Nai needs to orient its tourism development in connection with the Long Thanh Airport urban area, which is identified as one of the four main gateway areas serving as international gateways and concentrating tourism activities directly linked to air passengers. Priority functions include an international convention and exhibition center, airport hotels, duty-free shopping areas, entertainment complexes, and the night-time economy.

According to MSc. Do Le Phuc Tam, the success of an airport city depends not only on aviation infrastructure but also on its ability to integrate tourism, commerce, MICE, and entertainment, turning the area around the airport into a global hub for experiences and economic activities such as day trips, educational tourism, tourism linked to sports events, and commercial entertainment areas. In addition, an important factor is connecting the airport city with local natural and cultural resources. From Long Thanh, post-conference tour routes can connect to Cat Tien National Park, Tri An Lake, and indigenous cultural spaces.

One of the key proposals is to study the development of a free trade zone linked to the airport urban area, integrating duty-free shopping, outlet retail centers, entertainment areas, exhibition spaces, and international tourism services. The free trade zone model could become a "shopping and experience destination" for transit passengers, business travelers, and short-stay tourists. When integrated with MICE tourism, entertainment, and the night-time economy, the free trade zone will significantly increase passengers' on-site spending.

Some tourism experts also believe that the Long Thanh Airport urban area opens up many development opportunities for Dong Nai tourism.

The province has strong tourism potential, with assets rooted in nature, culture, history, and people. In particular, once Long Thanh Airport comes into operation, there will be many opportunities to develop tourism types such as event tourism, MICE tourism, and forest-and-garden ecotourism.

By Ngoc Lien – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho