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Introduction:
This research report will investigate and analyze the event operation and management aspects via using Vietnam - one of the most booming countries in terms of tourism and events in the world. The chosen subject in this report will be the Vietnam FoodExpo event series which is the largest and most renowned international food exhibition of the nation. By examining different findings of the industry and Vietnam FoodExpo, the report aims to establish a detailed overview of the Vietnam events sector and connect the theoretical knowledge of event management to this specific chosen event in Ho Chi Minh city.
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Vietnam Event Landscape:
2.1. Industry overview:
The tourism and events industry in Vietnam has been experiencing a continuous rise for a number of years prior to Covid-19 with both international and domestic travelers significantly increasing year over year, more specifically, international visitors grew over 25% annually from 2015 to 2019 either for business or leisure purposes (Statista, 2020). Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (2019) stated that the country was also awarded the title of “Asia’s Best Destination” by the World Travel Awards in 2019.
Moreover, the current expansion of MICE Tourism - which stands for meetings, incentives, conferences, and events - means that Vietnam is becoming more appealing to businesses who are looking to conduct business travels and events here. The UK’s Department for International Trade (2021) proposed that Vietnam has one of the most stable political systems in Asia which has made the country become a prime international destination for MICE Tourism for years to come.
2.2. Types of events:
Draper et al (2018) suggested the primary event types include business and leisure meetings, conferences, conventions, tradeshows, incentive trips, product launches, customer appreciation events and training sessions. One of the fastest-growing sectors in the event tourism industry is MICE with revenue from this category being six times higher than other parts of the Vietnam travel industry (Vietnamnet, 2021). In addition, other types of events might consist of cultural and historical happenings, festivals, entertainment shows. For Vietnam FoodExpo, it is considered as an exhibition event in the Food & Beverage industry where businesses display their products and services in different exhibiting areas.
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Visitor Demographics:
3.1. Event target market:
Nielsen (2019) mentioned that by identifying the specific target audience, event planners could focus on introducing and promoting events to the exact individuals they want to participate in these happenings which will also be the people who will most likely buy event tickets and purchase products. The simplest way to decide on event target participants is looking at past attendees and other event competitor visitors. In the case of Vietnam FoodExpo, the past event participants include business exhibitors, trade visitors, international visitors and product buyers from both domestic and international companies (Vietnam FoodExpo, 2020). Correspondingly, this event series has attracted more than 300 exhibitors and 10,000 trade visitors per year from 2015 to 2019, with the majority of visitors' professional backgrounds being agents or distributors - with 23%, followed by 21% of visitors being importers,19% being wholesalers, 18% being retailers, 12% being manufacturers and 7% came from other industries.
3.2. Participants characteristics:
Event exhibitors' primary needs and interests mainly focus in four primary areas which include making new contacts, acquiring valuable information, gaining visibility and selling products and services (Hultsman, 2001). With regards to this opinion, it could be understood that a good exhibitor should possess an outgoing personality, brand and product knowledge and the ability to engage with visitors.
On the other hand, exhibition visitors hold significant roles in whether an exhibition or a tradeshow is successful or not as they are the main buyers and consumers of the exhibitors’ products and services, thus, it is important for event organizers and exhibitors to understand their needs. Vietnam FoodExpo (2020) found that the present consumers have a tendency to purchase safer, more environmentally and organic products, also there is a development in the number of families and single buyers demanding better packaging design and materials for processed food and ready-to-meal products.
3.3. Purchasing behavior:
Vietnamnet (2021) stated that during the pre-pandemic period, MICE visitors from Europe spent between 700 and 1000 dollars per day while Asian MICE visitors spent more than 400 dollars per person on a daily basis. Also, the Food & Beverage consumers could now have more product choices and access to newer cuisine trends via the development of the E-commerce sector (Vietnam FoodExpo, 2020). Furthermore, Altrjman et al (2018) indicated that exhibitions and tradeshows provide great opportunities for visitors to experience certain products and services in a physical manner, personally connect and interact with the staff in a neutral environment which could result in the visitors having a positive mentality on their purchasing behavior as they would be more willing to buy.
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Event research and analysis:
4.1. Role of the event:
For the target of conducting a successful event management planning, each particular event must always have an aim and a set of objectives - which could also be interpreted as the roles of the event to its respective stakeholders and visitors. For Vietnam Expo, their stated role is being a leading business which connects and initiates food trading and networking opportunities. Thus, the main objectives include providing a communication platform between business to business or business to consumers, supporting food industry businesses in identifying potential suppliers and reliable sourcing partners as well as establishing business matching activities for international companies to expand their businesses to the Vietnam food and drink markets (Vietnam FoodExpo, 2021).
4.2. Event structure and venue:
The Vietnam FoodExpo event series has always been established in the form of industry-wide exhibition events and trade promotion events in the Food & Beverage Production and Food Technology sector (Vietnam FoodExpo, 2021). This event always takes place during a consecutive 4-day period with the opening ceremony and food forum on the first day of the event. From 2015 to 2019, the FoodExpo series were developed as on-site events with different exhibiting stands that display and promote various food & beverage products and kitchen equipment. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition was switched to an online tradeshow format with virtual business matchings and business meetings conducted via an online exhibition platform.
Since its first event in 2015 until now, the Vietnam FoodExpo has been annually held at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center (SECC) which is located in the center of Phu My Hung New City in district 7, the site is 15 minutes from the Ho Chi Minh city center and is a 30-minute drive from the Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Vietnam FoodExpo, 2021). The SECC is equipped with high-standard equipment and facilities that meet the criteria of national and international MICE events. It currently possesses four exhibition halls and a total area of 40,000 square meters with a 2000-seat convention place. Additionally, it also includes within its compound an office tower, two international standard hotels and an underground parking lot.
4.3. Stakeholders management:
Reid and Arcodia (2002) stated that stakeholders hold major roles in not just the financial aspects but also in the different operations of an organization or an event, thus, by understanding and assessing the stakeholder groups which include the suppliers, partners, customers and the local community, an organization could improve its events and create lasting impacts and success.
In the case of Vietnam FoodExpo, the importance of understanding the visitors’ current preferences has also been proposed in the above analysis. Therefore, it would be best for event organizers to communicate these findings to exhibitors and business stakeholders in order to maximize the values in revenues and sales for their exhibitors. Moreover, the post-event report in 2019 showed that out of all the past years exhibitors, 61% of them were returned exhibitors with 73% exhibitors rated the visitors quality as “good or above”, meaning the event organizers were able to attract the right visitors and buyers to this event and aligned their needs with those of the exhibitors to create mutual benefits for all involved stakeholders (Vietnam FoodExpo, 2020). On the other hand, partnered stakeholders such as the main sponsor Agribank, the media partners from Vietnam business newspapers and market information partner Nielsen were also being well managed and satisfied in terms of branding and promotion.
4.4. Event success and legacy:
Throughout its six-year series, the Vietnam FoodExpo has always been able to annually maintain over 300 exhibitors with over 500 product stands and more than 11,000 visitors from both domestic and international regions. These figures showed that the event has been able to generate a high return ratio of different stakeholder groups and increase the initial visitors and exhibitors numbers - with international participation coming from over 30 countries. The event management team will be looking to continue its past successes and provide a promotion channel and a business matching platform for the Food & Beverage industry businesses in the coming years.
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Conclusion:
To summarize, the theoretical framework of event tourism and event management was proposed and analyzed in this paper. Through conducting findings and analysis in a specific business event that is the Vietnam FoodExpo exhibition series, the distinct elements of event management were explained via a real-world example.
