Da Nang welcomes the trend of combining business and leisure travel

At the beginning of the new year, Vietnam’s MICE tourism industry proudly welcomed the “Spring Fortune”, which received consecutive awards at the ASEAN MICE Awards within the framework of the Southeast Asia Tourism Forum.

As competition for destinations in the region becomes increasingly intense, Vietnam’s continued success in winning prestigious awards reflects a systematic process of standardizing infrastructure, upgrading services and approaching international standards.

In the overall picture of MICE tourism in Vietnam, Da Nang continues to consolidate its leading role in the central region thanks to its parallel advantages of natural scenery, synchronized infrastructure and the ability to host high-end events. This coastal city has successfully created a complete MICE ecosystem, from luxury accommodation and state-of-the-art conference centers to an array of professional ancillary services.

Thanks to all of you, Ariyana Danang International Convention Palace has been honored with the 2026 ASEAN MICE Venue Award in the Event Venue category. It is also the only Da Nang representative in the ASEAN region that meets MICE standards, clearly demonstrating the internal capacity and international status of the local tourism industry.

Meanwhile, more travelers in Asia-Pacific are combining business and leisure activities, with 76% of respondents saying they plan to do so, according to the 2026 Tourism Outlook Report by online travel platform Agoda.

Interest in business travel exceeds 90% in some markets, indicating a change in trends and approaches to the business and business travel market.

“Asia-Pacific is seeing a trend where many people extend their personal vacations and travel for business to enjoy local experiences and make the most of their time. Travel platforms therefore need to make it easy for travelers to plan both the business and leisure parts of the same trip,” commented Omri Morgenstern, an expert at Agoda.

According to the report, business travel will continue to be popular in Asia Pacific in 2026, with Indonesia at 27%, followed by the Philippines at 20% and Vietnam at 19%. Of these, demand for extending the stay to include leisure activities is high, demonstrating the potential for post-conference service industries.

Markets like Japan and Indonesia also have somewhat traditional work cultures, but the majority of business travelers also embrace this trend. In Japan, 58% of business travelers plan to add time for themselves to their work schedules, compared to 76% in South Korea.

Agoda’s analysis partially reflects the potential for development of the ‘leisure travel’ segment, with the global business and leisure travel market expected to reach $1.71 trillion by 2032.

In such a situation, Da Nang has implemented many tourism stimulation programs since the beginning of 2026 to enhance the attractiveness of the destination. Sunworld Bana Hills Tourism Area launches a stimulus program where you can purchase one Bana ticket that can be used for three consecutive days without any limit on the number of cable trips. Many 4-5 star hotels and resorts run promotional packages that reduce room and service rates by 10-50% to attract tourists.

In particular, the program to attract MICE tourists to Da Nang will be developed under the theme of “DaNang – Elevating your MICE experience” and will be applied from January 1st to December 31st.

Thanks to that, medium and large international MICE delegations usually choose Da Nang as a venue for conferences, incentives and combined tourism since the beginning of this year. Usual: Supabase Group delegation with 240 guests. Quantumedge Capital Group and 160 guests. Kara Coconut Company in Singapore with 85 customers…

Da Nang City aims to welcome and support approximately 93,000 MICE visitors, an increase of approximately 12% compared to 2025. To achieve this goal, Da Nang’s tourism industry is diversifying its access channels. For the domestic market, we will work closely with the Vietnam Railway Corporation to build a “train-conference-resort” combo.

With an international market, Danang continues to strengthen its promotions at major MICE trade fairs in India, Australia, the United States and Southeast Asia. The establishment of the MICE Task Force (Da Nang MICE Task Force) will provide timely support to businesses and tourists from event preparation to completion.

In 2026, for the first time, Da Nang City will pay tribute to typical MICE operators, publish their names and logos on the MICE tourism information page, order free promotional publications for 6-12 months, and participate in domestic and international tourism promotion activities with preferential fees.

In particular, for MICE organizations visiting Da Nang for the second time or later, we will certify business operators and returning organizations as “Closed MICE Partners” and present them with gift certificates that allow them to experience new tourism products and services and enjoy preferential pricing through the partner business system. The City is also working with companies to develop a MICE Standard Checklist, the MICE Standard Checklist, to standardize the quality of event hosting services.

However, in the overall picture of MICE development in Da Nang, the problem lies not only in the increase in the number of tourist groups, but also in the actual operational capacity to meet large groups, tight schedules and high demands for flexibility. ​Additionally, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tien, Vice President of Hai Van Cat International Travel Co., Ltd., said: Da Nang needs a comprehensive strategy to solve flight route problems.

Given the lack of direct flights from Australia and India, Da Nang needs to proactively cooperate in code-sharing with the major aviation hubs of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The city would need to work with airlines to create “priority transportation” packages. Overseas MICE tourists also need to check-in once and need a separate entrance when transferring to Da Nang, reducing fatigue and inconvenience for high-end tourists.