The Pho Museum in Ho Chi Minh City spreads the beauty of Vietnamese culture and cuisine - Photo: TTD
As the leading economic and tourism hub of the country, Ho Chi Minh City aims to welcome approximately 61 million international and domestic tourists in 2026, achieving total tourism revenue of around 330,000 billion VND, making a significant contribution to GRDP growth.
To achieve this year's goals and to go further and more sustainably, the city is "awakening" the advantages of its friendly people, professional services, and vividly told cultural stories.
Spending heavily in Ho Chi Minh City
In a spacious 800m² area right in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, on a weekend morning, Yen Nhu (29 years old) immersed herself in the flow of memories and the present at Vietnam's first Pho Museum.
Amidst the fragrant aroma of cinnamon and star anise, many locals and tourists gathered to admire over 200 artifacts, documents, and images reflecting the pho culture of the three regions of Vietnam: North, Central, and South. They then watched a cinematic film about the dish that was once associated with street vendors.
"It's true that I'm a huge fan of pho, but I've never felt as proud and excited as I do now. I feel like I'm living in the flow of my hometown's cuisine," Yen Nhu shared.
Before concluding their multi-sensory experience, visitors can sit in the museum's open kitchen and watch the chefs prepare the meal. Afterwards, they can enjoy steaming bowls of pho with a variety of options such as rare beef, brisket, flank, tendon, beef meatballs, etc., accompanied by a bowl of flavorful pork ribs.
Special shows, combining performing arts and cuisine, attract both domestic and international visitors - Photo: TRUONG KIEN
Recently, Ho Chi Minh City has introduced many new tourism products that promote its unique local people and culture. Notable among these are art programs such as Chào Show, Vietcharm Show, and the circus performance "Mysterious Land" at Gia Dinh Park, which consistently sell out.
In the dazzlingly lit setting of Chào Show, Trung Hiếu (35 years old) and his wife couldn't hide their excitement as they enjoyed the impressive performances of the artists.
Featuring over 30 traditional musical instruments such as the bầu lute, tranh zither, bamboo flute, drums, gongs, etc., the program takes the audience on a cultural journey across Vietnam from North to South.
The highlight is the combination of audio, visual, and culinary enjoyment. Corresponding to each regional performance, the audience gets to taste characteristic dishes such as Hanoi's bun cha (grilled pork with vermicelli), Hue's vegetarian mixed vegetable salad, or the famous palm sugar rice cake of the Southwestern region.
In 90 minutes, viewers are taken on a journey of hearing, seeing, and tasting, exploring Vietnamese culture in a vivid and emotionally rich way.
With the VietCharm Culture & Dining Show, held within the grounds of the Independence Palace, the event made a strong impression by seamlessly blending art and cuisine with modern stage technology. To enhance the lively atmosphere, many attendees even wore traditional Vietnamese ao dai and other Vietnamese costumes.
To experience the blurring of the lines between the performance stage and the dining table, and to enjoy art and cuisine in a truly unique way, many audience members who are also diners are willing to spend from 1.6 to 1.8 million VND per ticket category, depending on seating location and level of interaction with the artist.
Special shows, combining performing arts and cuisine, attract both domestic and international visitors - Photo: TRUONG KIEN
The soft growth engine of the urban economy.
"Vietnam aims to make tourism one of its key economic sectors. For Ho Chi Minh City, after expanding its geographical area, tourism has also been identified as one of the important growth drivers," emphasized Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Saigontourist Group.
If the cultural, historical, culinary, and local product values are effectively exploited and integrated with community life, tourism will not only create direct economic value but also have a ripple effect on many other sectors, contributing to the overall growth of the city and the country.
According to Ms. Hoa, unlike many industries that exploit finite resources, tourism can bring long-term value if properly developed. "Investing in tourism not only generates direct revenue but also contributes to promoting the national image, fostering cultural exchange, attracting investment, and creating a source of on-site exports."
Polish tourists explore Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: TTD
Ms. Hoa shared that Ho Chi Minh City has a great advantage in terms of cultural depth, history, and unique urban life, but needs to be more decisive in transforming these values into attractive tourism products. For example, more systematic investment is needed in conservation, restoration, and exploitation. When these values become "living heritage," they will both generate economic benefits and provide unique experiences.
Related sectors also need to work together. With appropriate policies and coordinated efforts between aviation, trade services, infrastructure development, etc., tourism will contribute even more significantly to the economic growth targets of Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam in the coming years.
Focus on high value-added products.
Mr. Pham Huy Binh, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said that in addition to encouraging businesses to develop new products in night tourism, creative industrial tours, medical tourism, AR/VR technology applications in experiences, waterway tourism and helicopter tours, the city is also striving to develop products that promote the beauty of its people and culture.
In the coming period, the city will focus on developing high value-added tourism products such as MICE tourism, festivals and events, cultural and historical tourism, waterway tourism, ecotourism, and community tourism. Clusters of interconnected tourism products will also be formed, including the central urban area - events, beach - resorts, industry - shopping, river - ecotourism, and cultural - heritage.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cach-de-tp-hcm-cham-vao-cam-xuc-du-khach-20260426141405264.htm
