Raising the international level of beach tourism in Ho Chi Minh City

The merger of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau has created a large, unified development space, maximizing the advantages of the entire region.

In that context, the tourism industry, including the sea tourism industry, has many opportunities to develop rapidly, combining and promoting individual strengths into a unified entity.

Golf tourism, a specialized tourism product at The Grand Ho Tram. Photo: Huynh Son/VNA

Exploiting the strengths of the sea

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, after the merger, the city has a long coastline, connecting from Can Gio to Vung Tau, embracing Ganh Rai Bay. Sea tourism, which used to only have Can Gio mangrove forest, has now been supplemented with nearly 100km of beautiful beaches stretching from Vung Tau to Long Hai, Ho Tram, Binh Chau and Con Dao. Besides, Binh Chau-Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve and Con Dao National Park are very suitable for eco-tourism under the forest canopy combined with research and study.

Resorts, beach bathing and other forms of tourism related to the sea are always particularly attractive to tourists. Over the years, famous tourist destinations in this area have always welcomed more than 16 million visitors each year, with about 28,520 accommodation rooms, including 12 5-star hotels and resorts.

Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association Vo Thanh My assessed that geographical consolidation means a common development mechanism. The megacity of Ho Chi Minh City will gather better capacity in locating strengths to focus development on the right center and key points.

Not only stopping at the strength of sea resorts, Ba Ria-Vung Tau tourism is strongly transforming towards diversifying types from eco-tourism, cultural-spiritual tourism to sea sports tourism. A series of large-scale projects on high-end resorts and entertainment are being implemented, creating momentum for in-depth, professional and sustainable development.

To achieve the above goal, the locality focuses on investing in transport infrastructure connecting Ba Ria-Vung Tau with the region and area, ensuring synchronization and unity such as: Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway, Vung Tau-Long Hai-Binh Chau coastal road and Phuoc An bridge. Ho Chi Minh City is implementing Ring Road 4 and Long Thanh-Ho Tram Expressway projects, contributing to shaping and supporting the strong development of the tourism industry. Many high-quality projects have been formed and operated effectively: The Grand Ho Tram, Six Senses Con Dao, Lan Rung, Le Palmier Ho Tram, Melia Ho Tram...

Mr. Nguyen Thai Binh, General Director of Kim Sa Tourism Company, manager of the 4-star Le Palmier Ho Tram resort project, said: "When merged, Ho Chi Minh City will create a large metropolis. I expect that when the connecting traffic routes come into operation, the Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway is expanded and Long Thanh International Airport is operational, a large number of tourists from provinces, cities and international countries will flock to Ho Tram." Currently, businesses are completing facilities, products and services to welcome this new flow of visitors.

After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City has a population of over 13.6 million people and a consolidated GRDP estimated at 3.03 quadrillion VND (equivalent to 123 billion USD). With the above abundant resources, this is the largest intra-provincial tourism market in the country, bringing strong breakthrough opportunities, in which sea tourism is a new bright spot.

At the groundbreaking ceremony of two international standard 5-star hotel apartment complexes Five Star Odyssey and Five Star Poseidon in Vung Tau ward, with a total investment of more than 10,000 billion VND, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) Nguyen Trung Khanh commented that the new Ho Chi Minh City will attract large projects, creating new opportunities for the tourism industry when key infrastructure projects are put into operation.

International-class beach tourism center

With abundant economic resources, a huge domestic market and synchronous infrastructure, Ho Chi Minh City is aiming to turn the Eastern sea into an international-class sea tourism center. To realize this vision, immediately after the merger, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism conducted a survey and travel agencies proposed 15 new tourism programs, emphasizing traditional craft village tourism, mangrove ecotourism and sea and island tourism.

As one of the active enterprises in developing sea tourism activities in Ho Chi Minh City, General Director of Bac Trung Nam Ban Viet Tourism Co., Ltd. Tran Dinh Huy said that sea tourism will be the perfect addition to the tourism map of Ho Chi Minh City in the past. Director of BT Tour Tourism Co., Ltd. Le Hong Tu said that the Company is building a tourism route with Vung Tau and Ho Tram as the core with specialized products such as golf tourism and nature experiences.

To attract tourists, the tourism industry and coastal localities have also had many attractive projects. In 2025, Vung Tau ward marked a strong change when the Thuy Van Road Improvement Project was completed and put into use. The entire Bai Sau area was planned and renovated synchronously, creating a modern resort and entertainment space, serving the people and tourists.

Most recently, Vung Tau was honored by the World Travel Awards 2025 in the category of Asia's Leading Beach Destination, reflecting its efforts in investing in infrastructure, developing resort products and improving tourist experiences. This not only affirms the Vung Tau beach tourism brand in the international arena but also opens up opportunities to attract investment and develop high-end tourism products in the future.

Ms. Tran Thi Bich Van, Vice Chairwoman of Vung Tau Ward, said that the locality focuses on better beach management, aiming to build a friendly tourism environment, with the goal of each resident being a tourism ambassador. The ward also strengthens inspection and handling of trading order to create the best conditions for residents and businesses to develop tourism products.

Regarding the development orientation of Ho Chi Minh City in the coming period, the Political Report of the 1st Congress of the City Party Committee, term 2025 - 2030 also determined: Promoting investment attraction to develop leading tourist destinations in Asia, with many high-quality, diverse, modern products imbued with traditional cultural identity; developing tourism combined with health care; building international fair - exhibition centers, regional fashion centers. Along with that, the City accelerates the construction of high-class marine eco-tourism and resort centers; aiming to position the City as an international-class marine tourism center, a green, smart destination, combining conservation with development.

Tourists experience teambuilding in Con Dao. Photo: VNA

The city focuses on developing a high-end eco-tourism and resort center that is suitable to its potential and advantages, positioning itself as a green, smart international destination, combining conservation with development.

The geographical and economic integration has created a coastal megacity with unprecedented tourism potential. The new Ho Chi Minh City not only possesses a long coastline and a variety of high-end resort products, but also has financial resources and a "huge" domestic market.

With the synchronization in investment in connecting transport infrastructure and efforts to position the international brand, sea tourism here is facing the moment of take-off. Specific strategies, from developing specialized products to building a friendly and safe tourism environment in each locality are being strongly implemented, promising to turn the Eastern sea into a leading tourism center in Asia in the near future.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/du-lich/nang-tam-quoc-te-du-lich-bien-o-tp-ho-chi-minh-20251017083058146.htm