VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DAO THI KIM BIEN MICE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN SOME ASIAN COUNTRIES AND LESSONS LEARNED FOR VIETNAM Major: International Economy Code: 9.31.01.06 SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION HANOI - 2019 The Dissertation was completed at the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Academic Supervisors: Assoc Prof., Dr Luu Ngoc Trinh Dr Lai Lam Anh Commentator 1: Assoc Prof., Dr Trinh Thi Hoa Mai Commentator 2: Assoc Prof., Dr Trinh Thi Thanh Thuy Commentator 3: Dr Doan Huu Bay The Dissertation is to be defended in the presence of theBoard of Examiners at the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences on The Dissertation can be found at: - Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Library - National Library of Vietnam INTRODUCTION The Necessity of the Dissertation Recently and globally, the boom of science and technology, the growth of trade and economy and the increase of living conditions of people have all together connected tourism and entertainment with business activities Every year, there are more and more political, economic, cultural and sport events to be held nationally, regionally and globally, which become good opportunities for the tourism sector in general and MICE tourism in particular to develop For some past decades, there has witnessed very strong developments of MICE tourism in the world MICE tourism has been considered to be one of the most dynamic activities in the future and has created competitions among countries in inducement and extension of this attractive type of tourism MICE tourism has strongly developed in Asia As a region very attractive with the long-standing Oriental cultures and natural and climate preferences, MICE tourism has fascinated international tourists and especially MICE tourists Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and Korea, among them, are the typical Asian countries of MICE tourism development These countries have their own development conditions, with their own policies and paths, but they all have one thing in common: they are aware of the great benefits of developing MICE tourism, and are all focused their resources to turn MICE tourism into a truly "industrial" sector to bring great contributions to their countries socio-economic developments Thailand, for example, attracted over a million international MICE tourists in 2015, which as a result, created a revenue of about 89.5 billion Baht, accounting for over 13% of Thailand’s total tourism revenue [94] Or Singapore a small island nation with very few conditions to develop tourism, has focused on developing MICE tourism, and according to the World Tourism Organization, since 2009 Singapore has led the list of cities in holding conferences, with 637 international conferences to have been held in this island nation, accounting for 5.75% of the total world's conferences; and this is more important, 40% of Singapore's tourism revenue came from MICE tourism [80] According to the Asian Tourism Association, in just 10 years of development (from 2005 to 2015), MICE tourism technology has helped Asian countries increase their international visitors and revenue, created strong, positive impacts on cultural exchanges, encouraged investments and increased export turnover Vietnam is considered to be an attractive and friendly destination in the region and the world, with many scenic spots and unique cultures Vietnam’s tourism technical facilities have been increasingly improved and upgraded, with potential and favorable conditions for developing MICE tourism However, despite being "introduced" into Vietnam since the 1990s, MICE tourism remains to be a new type of tourism in Vietnam MICE events are organized mainly for political and economic purposes of the country Awareness of the importance and benefits of MICE tourism is not sufficient and strong enough to make this type of tourism develop in a long-term and professional way This leads to a huge waste and a further lag between Vietnam and other countries in the region and the world on development of tourism in general and MICE tourism in particular It can be said that developing MICE tourism is a right direction for Vietnam's tourism industry Researching and learning experiences in developing MICE tourism in other countries to draw lessons to develop this type of tourism in Vietnam is essential, especially in Asian countries and territories, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, etc., which have been ahead of Vietnam for more than 60 years in developing MICE tourism and have achieved impressive achievements, despite their possible conditions may not be better than Vietnam Therefore, the topic "MICE tourism development in some Asian countries and lessons learned for Vietnam" has been selected by the student for her PhD dissertation On the basis of comprehensive research on MICE tourism development in some typical countries and territories in the Asian region, the dissertation will provide necessary solutions and recommendations to better develop the type of MICE tourism in Vietnam in the future The Purpose and Research Tasks of the Dissertation 2.1 The Purpose of the Dissertation The Dissertation contributes to clarifying the theoretical basis of MICE tourism and MICE tourism development On the basis of analyzing the current situation of MICE tourism developmennt in selected Asian countries and territories, the disseration will draw some experience lessons and solutions for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam in the coming time 2.2 The Research Tasks To achieve the research purposes, the dissertation focuses on doing the following research tasks: - Systematizing and clarifying the theoretical and practical issues about MICE tourism and MICE tourism development - Analyzing and evaluating the status of MICE tourism development in selected countries and territories, such as Singapore, Hong Kong (China) and Thailand; drawing lessons on MICE tourism development that can be applicable to Vietnam - Analyzing and assessing the potential, status, characteristics, achievements, limitations and shortcomings of Vietnam in the development of MICE tourism - Based on the analysis and research, the dissertation will provide some orientations and solutions for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam in the coming time (up to 2030) The Object and Scope of Research 3.1 The Object of Research MICE tourism and MICE tourism development is the object of research 3.2 The Scope of Research - Scope of content: Based on theoretical and practical issues of MICE tourism and MICE tourism development, the dissertation will concentrate on studying an overview of MICE tourism in Vietnam and some countries and territories in Asia, like Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, with more focus on Singapore The dissertation will also clarify the ways to develop this type of tourism in these countries and territories; and explore the status, orientations and solutions for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam in the coming time The research on MICE tourism and MICE tourism development is undertaken from a macro perspective, not involving in specific MICE tourism business techniques The subjects to be studied under the Dissertation: The State and tourism enterprises are the subject of research on MICE tourism and development, with more focus on the State (as related to policies and measures for MICE development) + The scope of time: MICE tourism is a relatively new type, so the dissertation will look for the experiences of some Asian countries and territories, explore the situation of MICE tourism development in Vietnam from 2005 to present, and provide development orientations for the years to come, up to 2030 + The scope of space: Arguments will be based on global-wide theories and practice; and case studies of selected Asian countries and territories, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam will be undertaken The Methods of Research 4.1 Methodology In this Dissertation, the method of dialectical materialism and historical materialism of Marxism-Leninism is applied to look at socio-economic issues Also, qualitative research is the research approach of the dissertation 4.2 Specific methods of research The following methods of research are used in this Dissertation: - Descriptive statistics method: The dissertation uses various sources of statistical data from domestic and foreign documents These materials were collected, analyzed and described to clarify the current status of MICE tourism development in selected Asian countries and territories, including Singapore, Hongkong and Thailand, which can be seen in Chapter and the reality of MICE tourism development in Vietnam in Chapter - The method of general analytics: This method is used in Chapter for an overview of the scientific works to have been conducted on MICE tourism and MICE tourism development, especially in Asia and Vietnam It is also used in Chapter to explore the theoretical knowledge of MICE tourism and development of MICE tourism on the basis of secondary sources of information, through books, textbooks and scientific journals to have been published at home and abroad, together with various articles, conference proceedings, audiovisual documents, internet sources , which are the foundation for analysis and evaluation of the reality in the following chapters This method is also used in Chapter to explore and analyze the policies and measures to develop MICE tourism in selected Asian countries and territories and to draw some lessons for Vietnam In Chapter 4, the method is also used to contribute to clarifying the potentiality and reality of MICE tourism development in Vietnam and at the same time, exploring the conditions for Vietnam to well apply the lessons learned from the practices of MICE tourism development from the countries and territories under research - Comparative method: This method is used in Chapter for a comparison of the conditions for developing MICE tourism in selected Asian countries and territories; and also in Chapter for comparison and clarification of Vietnam's potentialities and advantages for developing MICE tourism development, compared with other countries and territories in Asia - Method of sociological survey: This method is used in Chapter to understand the situation, the viewpoints of the localities and enterprises about the status of MICE tourism in Vietnam; to assess the reality of MICE tourism development in Vietnam; to find out the weaknesses of and challenges to MICE tourism development Vietnam is facing, and the related causes The survey is taken by distributing questionnaires, consulting with travel agencies, hotels and event organizers or companies About 300 questionnaires were distributed to tourism companies, event organizers and hotels from 3-star to 5-star; and 240 ones were collected An analysis result of: (1) MICE organizers; (2) Proportion of hotel bed-rooms used by MICE guests; (3) MICE guests using hotel meeting rooms; (4) MICE revenue in structure of hotels’ revenues; (5) Difficulties of enterprises in MICE business can be seen at [Appendices 03, 04, 05] - The method of predictive statistics: This method is used in Chapter to identify and outline the new trends and conditions for the development of MICE tourism in the future, therefrom to point out solutions to develop MICE tourism in Vietnam accordingly New scientific contributions of the Dissertation The Dissertation has some new scientific contribution, such as: - Firstly, systematizing basic theoretical and practical issues about MICE tourism and MICE tourism development; clarifying the objective foundation of MICE tourism development, outlining the criteria for evaluating the development of MICE tourism, pointing out the necessary conditions for developing MICE tourism, generalizing development practices of MICE tourism in the world - Secondly, clarifying outstanding achievements in developing MICE tourism in three Asian countries and territories: Singapore, Hong Kong (China), and Thailand; analyzing conditions for developing MICE tourism in each country and territory; exploring the policies and measures to develop MICE tourism in these countries and territories - Thirdly, from the practice of developing MICE tourism in some Asian countries and territories, drawing some lessons to develop this type of tourism in Vietnam - Fourthly, on the basis of clarifying the potentialities, development status and general characteristics of MICE tourism in Vietnam, the dissertation provides some key solutions for further developing this type of tourism in Vietnam The theoretical and practical significance of the dissertation The result of the dissertation will be valid for theoretical and practical basis for researchers who are interested in MICE tourism and MICE tourism development in general, and in some potentiality of MICE tourism development, or ahievements, products or promotion programs for MICE tourism However, there is a lack of comprehensive research on policies and measures to develop MICE tourism in the countries in the region Thirdly, most studies focus on analyzing MICE tourism development in a certain region or city of a country rather than at a national level; or on MICE tourism development practices of a specific city of Vietnam Therefore, the lessons learned from these studies for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam in the coming time are still lacking Therefore, the dissertation aims to improve the gap of knowledge as above-said, specifically, it will: (i) Systematize and clarify some basic theoretical and practical issues of MICE tourism and MICE tourism development; (ii) To a comprehensive research on the development of MICE tourism in several countries and territories in Asial, specifically, to explore the conditions for developing MICE tourism in some countries and territories in Asia and, at the same time, to look on these countries’s policies and measures, or necessary conditions to be created for developing MICE tourism On the basis of these, some applicable lessons will be drawn for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam in the coming time (iii) To study the reality of MICE tourism development in Vietnam, analyzing the conditions, the strengths, the weaknesses, the opportunities of and challenges to developing MICE tourism in Vietnam; the limitations in MICE tourism development over the past years; and to propose orientations and solutions for 11 developing MICE tourism in Vietnam in the coming time, based on the lessons learned from some countries and territories in Asia Chapter 2: BASIC THEORETICAL ISSUES AND PRACTICES ON MICE TOURISM AND MICE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT This Chapter generalizes and clarifies some basic theoretical and practical issues on MICE tourism and MICE tourism development Specifically, it clarifies the content and characteristics of MICE tourism; basic theoretical issues on MICE tourism development, including the views on MICE tourism development in association with sustainable tourism development and sustainable development in general; the content of MICE tourism development; the conditions need to be created to enable this type of tourism to develop, and the criteria for making assessment of the development of MICE tourism This chapter also analyzes the benefits of MICE tourism development; international contexts and trends that may affect MICE tourism development, reviews the history and situation of MICE tourism development in the world 2.1 Basic theoretical issues on MICE tourism 2.1.1 Conception of MICE tourism - The concept of MICE + M: Meeting + I: Incentive + C: Convention/Conference + E: Exhibition /Event 12 - The concept of MICE Tourism 2.1.2 The characteristics of MICE tourism - Characteristics of MICE tourists - Characteristics of MICE tourist season - Characteristics of the venue and human resources of MICE tourism 2.2 Theoretical issues on developing MICE Tourism 2.2.1 Views on developing MICE “MICE tourism development is a combination of institutional and policy measures and all activities of stakeholders, from state management agencies related to MICE tourism, businesses MICE tourism business and residential community, to aim at increasing output and revenue and the level of contribution of this type of tourism to the economy, society and environment; At the same time, there is an improvement in terms of business structure, institution and business quality of MICE tourism 2.2.2 To develop MICE tourism in association with sustainable development theory - Sustainable development theory and guiding principles - MICE tourism development associated with sustainable development 2.2.3 Conditions for developing MICE tourism - Conditions on economic, political, cultural and social environment - Policy conditions for MICE tourism - Conditions on natural and humanistic tourism resources 13 - Conditions on quality of human resources - Conditions on the system of technical facilities, infrastructure and social services 2.2.4 Measures for developing MICE tourism - Raising awareness of MICE tourism development - Selecting suitable products for developing MICE tourism - Developing markets, promoting MICE tourism products - Creating coordination between/among stakeholders in organizing MICE activities 2.2.5 Evaluation of MICE tourism development - Economic effects of MICE tourism development - Socially sustainable MICE tourism development - MICE tourism development ensures environmental sustainability 2.3 Reality of MICE tourism development 2.3.1 Impact of global context and trends on MICE tourism - Global context and trend of MICE tourism development - The Industry Revolution 4.0 and its impacts on MICE tourism - Trend of consumer demand for tourism 2.3.2 Benefits from MICE tourism development - Economic contribution from MICE tourism - Political impact - Cultural, social and environmental contributions - Contribution to the tourism industry 2.3.3 Development history of MICE tourism 2.3.4 Overview of MICE tourism development in the world Conclusion from Chapter 14 Chapter DEVELOPMENT OF MICE TOURISM IN SOME ASIAN COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES In recent years, MICE tourism has further and further developed in Asia with typical countries and territories, such as Singapore, Hong Kong (China), Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia This Chapter will present and analyze the current status of MICE tourism development in Singapore, Hong Kong (China) and Thailand, with a focus on Singapore, from which some applicable lessons for Vietnam will be drawn 3.1 MICE tourism development in Singapore 3.1.1 Achievements in MICE tourism development in Singapore 3.1.2 Conditions for MICE tourism development in Singapore - Strategic and accessible location - System of technical infrastructure for MICE tourism development, including: Traffic system, communication and telecommunications, accommodation facilities, convention and conference centers in Singapore are complete and modern Singapore has many choices of event venues and accommodation for travelers - Singapore's humanistic tourism resources are rated as rich, unique, attractive and well-supported for the development of MICE tourism in this country - The interest in the development of MICE tourism by the Singapore government is reflected in the very positive and 15 effective activities of the Singapore Tourism Board, the leading agency of the tourism industry of this country - Professional and experienced - The boom of Singapore economy 3.1.3 MICE tourism development policies and measures in Singapore - Awareness of MICE tourism development - Choice of MICE tourism products suitable for development - Creating cooperation relations and links between/among stakeholders in organizing MICE activities - Developing markets, promoting MICE tourism products - Creating favorable conditions for developing MICE tourism - Other policies or measures to develop MICE tourism 3.2 MICE tourism development in Hong Kong (China) 3.2.1 Achievements in MICE tourism development in Hong Kong 3.2.2 Conditions for MICE tourism development in Hong Kong - Strategic and accessible location - Professionalism and efficiency - Many accommodation options are suitable for MICE customers - Beautiful and diverse landscapes - Various entertainment activities - Hong Kong is a shopping and food paradise - Ideal business environment 16 3.2.3 Policies and measures to develop MICE tourism in Hong Kong (China) - Selecting suitable MICE tourism product to develop - Establishing cooperation and links between/among stakeholders in organizing MICE activities - Developing markets, promoting MICE tourism products - Create favorable conditions for developing MICE tourism - Other policies and measures 3.3 MICE tourism development in Thailand 3.3.1 Some basic achievements in MICE tourism development in Thailand 3.3.2 Conditions for MICE tourism development in Thailand - The hospitality of Thai people - Convenient infrastructure - Thailand is a "paradise" for shopping and relaxation - Thailand has a rich system of tourism services and social services 3.3.3 Policies and measures for developing MICE tourism in Thailand - Awareness of MICE tourism development - Selecting suitable MICE tourism products to develop - Developing preferential policies to promote MICE tourism development - Developing markets, promoting and promoting MICE tourism products - Creating conditions for developing MICE tourism 17 - Other measures 3.4 Lessons learned for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam - Lessons on raising awareness of MICE tourism development - Lessons on choosing MICE tourism products to develop - Lessons on creating cooperation and association in MICE tourism development - Lessons on market development, promotion of MICE tourism products - Lessons on creating conditions to ensure the development of MICE tourism - Experience from limitations Conclusion from Chapter Chapter ORIENTATION AND SOLUTIONS FOR DEVELOPING MICE TOURISM IN VIETNAM ON THE BASIS OF APPLYING INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE Vietnam is considered a country with lots of potentialities for tourism development in general and MICE tourism in particular However, the reality of developing MICE tourism in Vietnam in the past time despite certain achievements, is still very limited, inadequate and not commensurate with the potentiality In Chapter 4, the disseration, based on research and analysis, will explore the situation of developing MICE tourism in Vietnam, especially the weaknesses and 18 limitations, specify the characteristics of the MICE tourism market in Vietnam and, at the same time, apply international lessons to propose orientations and solutions for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam in the years to come 4.1 Potentiality and situation of MICE tourism development in Vietnam 4.1.1 The potentiality of MICE tourism development in Vietnam - Vietnam has been active and actively integrating into the region and the world - Safety, security - Rich and attractive natural and human tourism resources - Material and technical facilities for tourism - Social services - The image of Vietnam in the international arena is increasingly improved - Policies of innovation, door-opening and integration 4.1.2 Some achievements of MICE tourism development in Vietnam - The number of enterprises providing MICE tourism services in Vietnam increased rapidly - The number of MICE tourists has increased rapidly in recent years - Income from MICE tourism increases 19 - Technical facilities have ensured initial conditions for MICE tourism development, yet many issues need to be solved - Marketing and promotion work also achieved certain results - Initial successes have gained, creating preconditions for development of MICE tourism 4.1.3 Restrictions, shortcomings and causes - On awareness of MICE tourism development in Vietnam - On key products to develop MICE tourism - On conditions for MICE tourism development + Infrastructure + Human resources + Supply of related services - On market development, promotion of MICE tourism products 4.2 Some characteristics of Vietnam MICE tourism market 4.3 Orientation for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam - Firstly, developing MICE tourism should become one of the strategic objectives of developing Vietnam's tourism industry - Secondly, special attention should be paid to MICE tourism planning in order to have a proper investment direction, avoiding widespread investment and spreading - Thirdly, focus should be made on building and developing unique and highly competitive MICE tourism products, and effectively promoting MICE tourism products in the direction of professionalization; 20 - Fourthly, it is necessary to have policies to pay attention to investment, construction of infrastructure and technical facilities to support and create conditions for MICE tourism to develop - Fifthly, the establishment of an agency specialized in managing and developing MICE tourism activities plays an important role for MICE tourism development, synchronously, deeply and professionally - Sixth, raising awareness of the community about the role and importance of MICE tourism 4.4 Essential solutions for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam on the basis of applying international experience - Solutions to raise awareness of MICE tourism development - Solutions to select MICE tourism products as the key to development - Investment solutions to create conditions for MICE tourism development - Solutions for market development and promotion - Other solutions Conclusion from Chapter 21 GENERAL CONCLUSION The study of a type of tourism itself is not new in socioeconomic research, but access to MICE tourism is an approach to a relatively new audience in Vietnam The newness of the topic manifests itself in the interest of research and the difficulty of collecting documents and materials for analysis, because there is a fact that MICE tourism is strange even for many people currently doing tourism services, so accessibility is not easy Reality shows that MICE tourism is not pure tourism in the old sense but it does support tourism development, with some characteristics such as: (i) It a business sector that can bring a lot of economic benefits for the place/destination of MICE tourism Revenue from MICE tourism not only focuses on the place of the event, but also spreads throughout the society, people can also enjoy the benefits from MICE tourism; (ii) The development of MICE tourism not only brings in economic benefits, but also it is important in the brand, class of place/destination, through the evaluation and impression of MICE visitors; (iii) This is a very competitive business, which needs smooth coordination between private interests (or the private sector) and the public sector Neither side can "pull the blanket" too much on their side, so that everyone can share, i.e., the society; (iv) This is also a very vulnerable sector because it is easily affected by sudden changes, especially the changes in prices and taxes for not a long time For example, it may take a whole year since a guest/customer 22 contacts and then actually arrives, therefore, only a stable economic and political environment can truly help develop MICE tourism Although there are changes in the world economy, there are potential threats of international terrorism, and/or new inventions created in information technology , in general, MICE tourism will continue to develop However, every country, together with assessment of its potentiality for designing an appropriate MICE tourism development strategy for the country, needs to learn from other countries' experiences In a modern economy, a country may not develop fast and sustainably without participating in the process of international integration which now becomes deeper and deeper That the exploration of MICE tourism development experience from Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand is aimed to analyze the factors that make success as well as the valuable lessons learned from these countries and territories; thereby to find out the possibility of developing MICE tourism in Vietnam Research has shown that Singapore and Hong Kong (especially Singapore) are the leading countries in the field of MICE organization in Asia and around the world, with perfect facilities and professional staff of MICE tourism business, along with flexible and effective support from the government In addition, these countries' MICE tourism information resources are diverse and completely open A fundamental 23 problem for countries on the way of developing MICE tourism, like Vietnam, is whether or not they can use these resources as a special source of reference and apply them in developing MICE tourism in accordance with their reality Certain positive signs prove that the potentiality for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam is huge, like a "gold mine" that is newly discovered and preliminarily exploited However, that path of development, to be sustainable, requires the guidance of investment and exploitation in a synchronous way from the Government, directly the General Department of Tourism in Vietnam, to promote its role as conductor Although there are many shortcomings that need to be overcome quickly, we can say that MICE tourism in Vietnam is quite promising and will have a strong development prospect, which will contribute to create an image of Vietnam as the leading destination of MICE tourism in the near future 24 PUBLICATIONS OF THE PHD STUDENT AS RELATED TO TOPIC OF THE DISSERTATION Dao Thi Kim Bien, 2016, “International experience on tourism development and lessons for sustainable tourism development in Vietnam” The Asia – Pacific Economic Review, Late June 2016 Issue, pp 88-91 Dao Thi Kim Bien, 2016, “Reality and solution for attracting tourists to Quang Ninh Province” The Review of Information and Socio-Economic Forecasts, No.127, pp 16-23 Dao Thi Kim Bien, 2017, “Developing a high quality human resource for tourism development, meeting the demands for international economic integration in Vietnam today” The Review of Social Science Human Resource, No.9 (52), pp 64-73 Dao Thi Kim Bien, 2018, “MICE tourism in Vietnam: Situation, opportunity, difficulties and solutions for development” The Review of Africa and Middle East Studies, No.8 (156), pp.45-56 ... developing MICE tourism in Vietnam in the years to come 4.1 Potentiality and situation of MICE tourism development in Vietnam 4.1.1 The potentiality of MICE tourism development in Vietnam - Vietnam... development, promotion of MICE tourism products 4.2 Some characteristics of Vietnam MICE tourism market 4.3 Orientation for developing MICE tourism in Vietnam - Firstly, developing MICE tourism should... for developing MICE tourism - Raising awareness of MICE tourism development - Selecting suitable products for developing MICE tourism - Developing markets, promoting MICE tourism products - Creating