Cu Chi Tunnels attract Western tourists

In mid-November, entering the peak international tourist season, the Cu Chi tunnels relic site is always crowded with visitors these days.

But the biggest attraction for international tourists is not only the visit to the tunnels, but also the tour guides here. Young, professional, fluent in foreign languages, many of them can speak 2-3 languages such as English, Chinese, Korean... with a lively, engaging and emotional way of telling stories, making everyone from the elderly to the young in the tour groups listen attentively to every word.

Domestic and international tourists attentively listen to tour guides telling stories at Cu Chi tunnels.

PHOTO: LE NAM

Engaging and vivid storytelling keeps foreign visitors coming back

PHOTO: LE NAM

The atmosphere in the tunnel area was always bustling. Every time a tourist bent down to get into the narrow tunnel and emerged, there was a burst of applause and cheers from above. In the crowd, Mark Wilson (29 years old, Canadian tourist) was still panting after overcoming the challenge. While putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath, he shook his head and laughed: "I can't believe it!"

The Cu Chi tunnel challenge even became a "trend" on the foreign TikTok platform.

PHOTO: LE NAM

Meanwhile, Mark's friends were still holding their phones to record the moment he crawled into the tunnel, covered it with camouflage leaves, and emerged amidst cheers. Just a few minutes later, the clip was posted directly to TikTok with the caption: "The challenge of crawling through the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam is much harder than imagined!". Besides Mark, many other tourists also watched the video and laughed, quickly sharing their feelings on social media.

Stunned to see spike traps in the tunnel area

PHOTO: LE NAM

Ms. Xiaomi Mini (33 years old, a Chinese tourist living in Vietnam) said that the shooting part is her favorite experience because it is "special and rare". She lives in Ho Chi Minh City with her husband, runs a restaurant and creates travel content, often filming clips promoting Vietnamese destinations for friends back home. "I stay in Vietnam because the climate is sunny and pleasant, and there are many interesting destinations," she shared.

Ms. Xiaomi Mini (33 years old, Chinese tourist living in Vietnam) tries specialties and tunnels in Cu Chi

PHOTO: LE NAM

A representative of Saigon River Star, the unit that organizes the cruise tour to Cu Chi, affirmed that the tour guide is the "soul" of the product. The characteristic of Cu Chi tourism is to tell the story of Vietnamese culture, history and people. If it is not told well and not emotional enough, it will be difficult to retain customers.

Vietnamese tour guide "devoted himself" to telling stories to foreign guests

PHOTO: LE NAM

In the first 6 months of the year, Cu Chi tunnels welcomed about 717,000 visitors, of which more than 410,000 were international visitors.

PHOTO: LE NAM

Tour guides are the "soul" of Vietnamese tourism products.

PHOTO: LE NAM

The main tourist markets include Europe, North America, East Asia and China. Maintaining the attraction is not only thanks to the value of the unique tunnel system, but also the quality of service and increasingly professional tour guides, helping visitors gain a deeper understanding of the history, culture and spirit of the Vietnamese people.