Over the past week, many international delegations have visited Ho Chi Minh City for entertainment and seminars, helping the tourism market become more vibrant. The Department of Tourism of HCMC estimates that the tourism industry will possibly complete its goal of welcoming 3.5 million international visitors this year soon.
The Australian tourists visit Sai Gon Central Post Office in HCMC. (Photo: SGGP)
Large number of visitors from Australia, India
On the afternoon of July 21, Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Director of the Department of Marketing and Communication Director of Saigontourist, said that the river tour of the Australian delegation by river vessel Indochine 2, starting on July 18, would end on July 22.
This group of tourists participated in a nine-day, eight-night river cruise from HCMC to My Tho - Cai Be - Vinh Long - Sa Dec - Chau Doc, connecting the Cambodian route. This is the first river tour international delegation back to Vietnam since the beginning of 2020.
According to the itinerary, Saigontourist Travel welcomed and guided the delegation to visit HCMC and Cu Chi Tunnels. It is expected that from September, Saigontourist will promote exploiting and serving this source of international tourists, actively contributing to the national tourism recovery strategy in the near future.
Previously, from July 15 to 18, the HCMC Department of Tourism also held a ceremony to welcome a delegation of 460 Meeting Incentive Conference Event (MICE) tourists from India to HCMC. The delegation stayed at Vinpearl Luxury Landmark 81 Hotel and Le Meridien Hotel.
On the sidelines of the welcome ceremony, Mr. B. Subhash Chandar, Managing Director of Asia Destination Management Joint Stock Company in Vietnam - the trip organizer, said that Indian tourists were extremely excited when arriving at HCMC. Despite the tight schedule, the delegation still had many activities to experience and visit in HCMC, such as shopping at Ben Thanh Market and commercial centers, enjoying food, and seeing Saigon at night on a yacht.
“Indian tourists are familiar with destinations in Southeast Asia and Dubai, but HCMC in particular and Vietnam, in general, are still quite new, attracting many visitors to visit and experience,” Mr. B. Subhash Chandar said. According to Saigontourist Group, Vietravel, and TSTtourist, from now until the end of the year, they will continuously welcome international delegations, including MICE delegations, to visit and travel in Vietnam, in general, and HCMC in particular.
Year-end acceleration
At many destinations and amusement parks in HCMC, the number of visitors, especially at weekends, has increased sharply, including domestic and international visitors. Baek Hyeon, 29, a Korean tourist, said that he often goes to eateries in District 1 and District 3 to enjoy famous dishes in HCMC.
A representative of the War Remnants Museum in District 3 in HCMC said that the number of visitors gradually surged after the holidays of April 30 and May 1. Groups of independent foreign tourists with hired Vietnamese guides visiting the museum have risen significantly. Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens also said that in the first six months of the year, the unit welcomed nearly 1.3 million domestic and international visitors, reaching 82.8 percent of the year plan, raking in VND75 billion, and paying VND6.2 billion to the budget. From now to the end of 2022, Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden will continue to focus on renovating the landscape, improving the quality of services, and carrying out more conservation programs to serve pupils and students to visit and study. A representative of the tourist site A Glimpse of Vietnam in Cu Chi District in HCMC said that the trend of creating more landscapes and opening eco-tourism areas to serve a variety of tourists, including pupils, students, and international students, was being deployed by many destinations in HCMC.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of HCMC Department of Tourism, assessed that at this time, the tourism industry in HCMC had been making significant steps of recovery and development, clearly reflected in the number of visitors and revenue achieved after the Covid-19 pandemic was under control. From now to the end of the year, the Department of Tourism will promote developing tourism types, such as river tourism, community tourism, eco-agricultural tourism, and MICE tourism.
In addition, the department will cooperate with the Department of Health and travel companies to continue to renew and increase the attractiveness of medical tourism and dental tourism products. At the same time, it will have a road map to develop tourism products that approach international standards, attract more international tourists, and provide them with high-quality services, encouraging them to be willing to spend more.
By Gia Han, Van Dieu – Translated by Thanh Nha