Tiếng Việt
Last April, Maries had the opportunity to participate in the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2026 at ICE Hanoi, where tourism businesses, hotels, resorts, travel agencies, and local product brands from across Vietnam gathered together. The event marked one of the most important tourism exhibitions in Vietnam and also became a meaningful milestone in Maries’ journey as the brand officially moved closer to the tourism and cultural gifting market.
As the tourism industry increasingly focuses on local cultural experiences and sustainable products, VITM 2026 became an important bridge connecting handcrafted brands with businesses looking for meaningful and distinctive gifting solutions for their customers. For Maries, this was an opportunity to introduce Hue Lepironia handicrafts to the tourism market while also allowing hotels, resorts, and travel companies to discover products that carry clear cultural value, practical applications, and strong relevance to modern gifting trends.
At the event, Maries’ handcrafted hats, bags, and charms attracted significant attention thanks to the combination of aesthetic design, artisanal craftsmanship, and the traditional village stories behind each product. Many partners appreciated that the products were not only visually appealing but also reflected the spirit of Vietnamese culture — something tourism businesses are increasingly looking for when creating memorable experiences for travelers. This opens up great potential for local handcrafted products like Maries to become suitable choices for hotel gifts, corporate gifts, and cultural experience programs within travel tours.
Through VITM 2026, Maries also had the opportunity to connect directly with many businesses in the tourism industry and further introduce the traditional Lepironia grass material from Hue, the handcrafted production process, and the brand’s ability to develop customized products based on each partner’s specific needs. This is considered an important foundation for expanding future collaborations while also giving tourism businesses more options for culturally inspired gifts instead of mass-produced products commonly found on the market.
Beyond business networking activities, the Maries booth also attracted a large number of visitors thanks to its aesthetic display style and the uniqueness of Lepironia grass as a material. Many visitors expressed excitement when discovering how a traditional material from Central Vietnam could be transformed into modern, elegant, and practical designs suitable for contemporary lifestyles. This further demonstrated the strong potential of Vietnamese handicrafts when supported by thoughtful design, product quality, and meaningful storytelling.
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Participating in VITM 2026 not only helped Maries expand brand awareness but also reinforced the idea that local handcrafted products can become part of the modern tourism ecosystem. At the same time, the event created opportunities for tourism businesses to discover products that better align with the growing trend of experiential gifting, where cultural value, craftsmanship, and storytelling are becoming increasingly important to customers.
In the coming years, Maries will continue developing product lines dedicated to the tourism industry, expanding customization options for business partners, and further promoting the stories behind Hue’s Lepironia craft villages. With this direction, Maries hopes not only to bring Hue handicrafts closer to travelers but also to become one of the cultural gifting choices for Vietnam’s tourism industry in the future./.