SECC Trade Fairs in Ho Chi Minh City 2026–2027: Dates, Getting There and How to Rest

Nguyễn Văn Linh Boulevard in District 7 at dusk, with a lit shopping centre, a curving lake, green parks and apartment towers under a cloudy blue sky

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In short: SECC (Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, 799 Nguyễn Văn Linh, District 7) hosts Ho Chi Minh City’s biggest trade fairs. Below are the confirmed dates from November 2026 to September 2027, with official links, plus how to recover from long fair days: an evening float in Thảo Điền (about 60 minutes by Grab), dinner nearby, and a calm last day before your flight.

By four in the afternoon on a fair day, you have shaken a hundred hands, repeated your pitch in three accents and walked what feels like the length of every hall twice. Your feet ache, your voice is tired, and your body still thinks it is in another time zone. Tomorrow you do it all again. This guide is for that moment: which fairs are coming to SECC and when, how to plan your evenings so you actually rest, and how to end your trip without dragging a suitcase around the city.

Nguyễn Văn Linh Boulevard in District 7 at dusk, with a lit shopping centre, a curving lake, green parks and apartment towers under a cloudy blue sky
Nguyễn Văn Linh Boulevard in Phú Mỹ Hưng, District 7, at dusk. SECC sits on this same road. Photo: Jack Nguyen 64, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

SECC trade fairs, November 2026 to September 2027

These are the fairs whose dates the organisers have confirmed on their official websites. We checked every date on 4 November 2026. Organisers sometimes move dates or halls, so please check again with them closer to your trip.

FairDatesWhat it coversOfficial site
Vietnam Foodexpo 202611–14 November 2026Food, drinks and food processingfoodexpo.vn
Vietnam Expo HCMC 20263–5 December 2026International trade fair across many industrieshcm.vietnamexpo.com.vn
HawaExpo 20273–6 March 2027Furniture and home décor for export buyershawaexpo.com
SaigonTex 20277–10 April 2027Textile and garment machinery, fabrics and materialssaigontex.com.vn
Cafe Show Vietnam 20276–8 May 2027Coffee, tea, bakery and café businesscafeshow.com.vn
MTA Vietnam 20276–9 July 2027Machine tools, precision engineering and metalworkingmtavietnam.com
ITE HCMC 20279–11 September 2027International travel and tourismitehcmc.travel
Dates from each organiser’s official website, checked 4 November 2026.

Coming for furniture? VIFA EXPO 2027 runs from 26 February to 1 March 2027, but it is not at SECC: it takes place at WTC EXPO in Bình Dương and SKY EXPO (see vifafair.com). Many buyers combine it with HawaExpo at SECC a few days later. For concerts, races and festivals in the same months, see our calendar of major events in Ho Chi Minh City. In town for Vietnam Expo and staying the weekend? The Techcombank marathon runs on Sunday 6 December; here is how to recover around race day.

What a fair day really asks of your body

A trade fair looks like a sitting job on paper. In practice you stand at the booth for hours, walk between halls, carry samples and talk without a break. Inside the halls the air conditioning is strong; outside, Saigon is warm and humid. Add a long flight and a time difference of a few hours or more, and many visitors reach day two already running on empty.

A few simple habits help: wear shoes you have already walked in, drink water through the day, not only coffee, and sit down properly for lunch instead of eating at the booth. Get some daylight in the morning to help your body clock settle; our jet lag guide for Vietnam has more. And plan one evening of real rest, not just another dinner with clients.

An evening of real rest in Thảo Điền

Let us be honest about the distance first. SECC is in District 7, and Ōmni Space is in Thảo Điền, on the other side of the city. By Grab the ride takes about 60 minutes, depending on the time of day. So we do not suggest rushing over at lunchtime. Two plans work well: leave the fair a little early, around 17:00 or 18:00, and take one of the evening floats (the last one starts at 20:00), or keep it for your last day or a free day between fairs.

Why make the trip? Float therapy is the most complete switch-off we know after a day of talking and standing. You lie back in about 25 cm of warm water with dense, mineral-rich Epsom salt, so your body floats on its own and your feet carry nothing at all. The water is about 33–34 °C, close to skin temperature. The room is private, with its own shower, and you need no swimsuit. Many guests say their legs feel light and their head goes quiet right after the session. New to it? Read what float therapy is.

Ōmni Evidence Scale: Strong evidence, for float and stress. Several trials point the same way. We rate it Strong because, on top of these trials, user experience is overwhelmingly positive: in a 2025 survey of regular floaters, 92% reported relaxation and 77% less stress, echoed by thousands of reviews, Reddit threads and forums, and by athletes and public figures who float. See how we rate evidence on the Ōmni Evidence Scale.

A woman floating with eyes closed, head resting on a soft neck pillow, blue LED light behind
After a day on your feet: nothing to carry, nothing to answer. Photo: Ōmni Space.

Heat and cold for legs that walked every hall

If you prefer something more active, try our infrared sauna with red light (45–55 °C) and cold plunge (7–12 °C). Warm up, cool down, rest, and repeat once or twice; our contrast therapy guide explains the rounds and rates hot and cold for muscle soreness as Promising. A sauna or cold plunge on its own is 450,000 VND, or 200,000 VND extra when you add it to a float.

Exhibiting as a team? You can book the whole sauna and cold plunge room for 60 minutes for 900,000 VND, for up to 4 people. It is a good way to end the last show day together. For the cold plunge, bring your own swimwear, as the counter does not lend it; the sauna and the float need none.

Inside the red-light infrared sauna at Ōmni Space, wooden benches glowing red
The infrared sauna with red light, room for a small team. Photo: Ōmni Space.

Dinner in Thảo Điền

Thảo Điền is a leafy riverside neighbourhood full of small restaurants, cafés and bars, so you can float, shower and walk to dinner. Our guide to things to do in Thảo Điền has ideas for every mood. Eating plant-based or hosting a vegetarian client? Our vegan and vegetarian guide to Ho Chi Minh City lists restaurants we checked, including two in Thảo Điền.

Your last day: float before the flight

Many fair visitors check out of the hotel at noon and fly late at night. Instead of carrying your bags around, bring them to Ōmni: we keep up to 4 suitcases while you float, shower and change for the plane. Our last-day guide for late-night flights has a full plan, and if you only have a few hours between flights, read the Ho Chi Minh City layover guide.

Float room with private shower and glass-walled pool
Each float room has its own shower, so you leave fresh for the airport. Photo: Ōmni Space.

Getting around

Grab, Vietnam’s ride-hailing app, is the easiest way between SECC and Thảo Điền. You see the price before you book; type “Ōmni Space, 16C Quốc Hương”. Allow about 60 minutes, more in the evening rush. If you are staying in the city centre, Thảo Điền also has its own station on metro Line 1, which runs from Bến Thành. Arriving early in the morning before your hotel room is ready? See our early arrival guide.

The elevated Thảo Điền metro station on Line 1, with the track running towards the Landmark 81 tower on a cloudy day
Thảo Điền station on metro Line 1, on Quốc Hương street. Photo: ekkun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

If you have… here is what to do

If you have…Do this
One evening after the fairLeave SECC around 17:00–18:00, Grab to Thảo Điền, a 60-minute float, then dinner nearby
A free day between fairsSleep in, a 90-minute float in the afternoon, a slow walk and dinner in Thảo Điền
Your last day before a late flightLeave your bags at Ōmni (up to 4 suitcases), float, shower, eat, then go to the airport
A team that exhibited togetherBook the whole sauna and cold plunge room for up to 4 people, then dinner together

When you come to Ōmni Space

Ōmni Space is at 16C Quốc Hương, Thảo Điền, open 9:00–21:00 every day, with the last float starting at 20:00. A float is 1,500,000 VND for 60 minutes or 2,000,000 VND for 90 minutes; going as two in the Couple Room is the single price plus 700,000 VND. Online booking is paid by bank transfer, and international cards are accepted at the counter. The team behind Ōmni opened Vietnam’s first float centre, Float Vietnam, in 2017, and guests rate Ōmni 4.8 ★ across 72 Google reviews (25 October 2026). Fair weeks fill the evening slots fast, so book ahead.

Never floated before? See what a float in Vietnam is like →

Float PlanJust landed in Saigon?Take the one-minute Float Plan quiz: tell us how you feel and what you need, and get a simple plan for your first session.Make my Float Plan

Frequently asked questions

Where is SECC in Ho Chi Minh City?

SECC, the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, is at 799 Nguyễn Văn Linh in District 7, in the south of the city. Most international trade fairs in Ho Chi Minh City take place there.

Which trade fairs are at SECC in 2026 and 2027?

Confirmed so far: Vietnam Foodexpo (11–14 November 2026), Vietnam Expo HCMC (3–5 December 2026), HawaExpo (3–6 March 2027), SaigonTex (7–10 April 2027), Cafe Show Vietnam (6–8 May 2027), MTA Vietnam (6–9 July 2027) and ITE HCMC (9–11 September 2027). Check the official sites closer to your trip.

Is VIFA EXPO at SECC?

No. VIFA EXPO 2027 (26 February to 1 March 2027) takes place at WTC EXPO in Bình Dương and SKY EXPO, according to its official website. HawaExpo, the other big furniture fair, is at SECC from 3 to 6 March 2027.

How long does it take from SECC to Thảo Điền?

About 60 minutes by Grab, depending on the time of day and traffic. That is why we suggest an evening float after the fair, or a float on your last day.

Can I leave my luggage at Ōmni Space on my last day?

Yes. Ōmni keeps up to 4 suitcases while you float, shower and get ready for your flight. The last float starts at 20:00.

Written by the team at Ōmni Space – Float Saigon in Thảo Điền. General information, not medical advice; fair dates checked on the organisers’ official websites on 4 November 2026, please check again with the organisers closer to your trip.

Sources

  1. Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), official website.
  2. Vietnam Foodexpo, official website.
  3. Vietnam Expo HCMC, official website.
  4. HawaExpo, official website.
  5. SaigonTex, official website.
  6. Cafe Show Vietnam, official website.
  7. MTA Vietnam, official website.
  8. ITE HCMC, official website.
  9. VIFA EXPO, official website.
  10. Kjellgren A, Westman J (2014). Beneficial effects of treatment with sensory isolation in flotation-tank as a preventive health-care intervention: a randomized controlled pilot trial. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 14: 417.
  11. Hilpert K, Chis Ster I (2025). Experiences and perceptions of regular floatation-REST users: results from an online survey. Journal of Clinical Images and Medical Case Reports 6(5): 3600.