Businesses "sit on fire" when ports in Ho Chi Minh City stop receiving cruise ship tourists

(NLDO) – The sudden stop of receiving cruise ships at Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster has seriously affected the activities of welcoming international visitors to Ho Chi Minh City.

On October 15, Royal Caribbean Group (RCG) sent a document to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and relevant agencies regarding the reception of international tourist ships in the Cai Mep - Thi Vai area (Ho Chi Minh City).

Currently, the group is experiencing serious operational disruptions in Vietnam.

Royal Caribbean Group is the world's leading cruise line headquartered in Miami, USA, serving millions of tourists each year to prominent destinations around the world. In 2024, Royal Caribbean will operate 80 cruises to Vietnam and is expected to increase to 100 cruises in 2025.

According to the announcement from port partners of Saigon Newport Corporation, ports in Phu My ward, Ho Chi Minh City will stop receiving passenger ships from October 2025, including: Tan Cang - Cai Mep Joint Stock Company (TCCT Port), Tan Cang - Cai Mep International Port Company Limited (TCIT Port) and Tan Cang - Cai Mep Thi Vai Port Company Limited (TCTT Port).

"The suspension of receiving ships is related to the procedure for adding the function of receiving cruise ships at Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster as requested by the Vietnam Maritime and Waterways Administration. However, this sudden cancellation of the journey seriously affects our schedule and operations. Specifically, on October 18, the Ovation of the Seas ship carrying more than 4,000 passengers scheduled to dock at TCCT Port will not be able to proceed, causing great damage to passengers and the group" - Royal Caribbean's document stated.

According to the group, if the above incident is not resolved immediately, ports in the Ho Chi Minh City area will not be able to receive large international passenger ships. Therefore, Royal Caribbean will be forced to remove Ho Chi Minh City from the list of destinations in its operating program in Asia.

An international ship docks at Phu My port, March 2025

"According to operating regulations and business planning practices, after the destinations are qualified to receive ships, it will take 3 years to bring the ships back to Vietnam. Given the urgent situation, we request that the leaders create conditions and allow the above 3 ports to continue receiving large-tonnage cruise ships in the near future" - Royal Caribbean representative suggested.

Also related to the above problem, Saigontourist Travel Service Company has just sent a document to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism to support the proposal to unify the policy for container ports and general ports in the Cai Mep - Thi Vai area to pilot receiving international passenger ships to ensure tourism activities.

Accordingly, Saigontourist Travel, together with its shipping agency partners, organized tour programs for a large number of international visitors (an average of more than 3,000 visitors/trip) from major shipping lines such as Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruise Limited... when they visited the Cai Mep - Thi Vai port area recently.

Risk of having to cancel mass cruises

"According to regulations, container ports and general ports need to add the function of receiving passenger ships to the License to announce seaport operations. However, completing this legal document requires time, while the international passenger ship schedule has been finalized long ago and cannot be changed. The delay in procedures is directly threatening the schedule of planned ships" - a representative of Saigontourist Travel worried.

International shipping lines are forced to cancel their shipments if ports in Ho Chi Minh City stop receiving ships.

For example, from now until the end of April 2026, Saigontourist Travel expects to have about 15 international passenger trains with about 40,000 passengers waiting to be received.

"If this is not resolved promptly, international shipping lines will be forced to cancel trips en masse, causing serious damage to Ho Chi Minh City's tourism revenue, breaking signed contracts of Saigontourist Travel and affecting the reputation and image of national tourism in the eyes of international partners" - the company representative worried.

Saigontourist Travel proposes that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism consider, report and recommend to the Vietnam Maritime and Waterways Administration, and competent authorities, to allow container ports and general ports in the Cai Mep - Thi Vai area to pilot receiving international passenger ships from now until the end of December 2026.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/doanh-nghiep-ngoi-tren-lua-khi-cang-o-tp-hcm-ngung-don-khach-du-lich-tau-bien-196251015171357914.htm