Ho Chi Minh City joins forces to promote tourism

For the first time, the Ho Chi Minh City tourism industry with the participation of 168 wards, communes, and special zones together promoted and stimulated tourism at the end of the year.

The 5th Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week - 2025 with the theme "Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City Fest" takes place from December 5 to 12. The highlight of this Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week is the response and participation of 168 wards, communes, and special zones to promote and welcome domestic and international tourists.

Ho Chi Minh City is more open, younger, more connected

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the 2025 Tourism Week has a special significance, marking the first time the program is organized within the megacity after the administrative unit arrangement. This is a "golden opportunity" to promote the image of the new city, a colorful urban area; increase connectivity and develop sustainable tourism.

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung said that the Tourism Week is not only a series of events to open the festival season, but also a message affirming the city's determination to strongly restore the tourism industry and promote socio -economic growth. The Tourism Week is also an opportunity to introduce a new Ho Chi Minh City - more open, younger, and more connected.

Saigontourist Group recently held a conference connecting representatives of 168 wards, communes, and special zones in Ho Chi Minh City to promote and develop tourism. Photo: LAM GIANG

"The Tourism Week will be the start of a series of new activities, introducing unique tourism products, continuing to affirm the attraction of Ho Chi Minh City. Through the Tourism Week, Ho Chi Minh City hopes to create a vibrant experiential space, spreading the festival spirit, stimulating tourism - trade - cuisine at the end of the year; opening up opportunities for businesses to introduce new products, strengthen market connections, and join hands to build a friendly, safe and sustainable tourism environment" - Mr. Nguyen Van Dung emphasized.

One of the outstanding activities at this year's Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week is the program of communication cooperation, promoting the image of 168 wards, communes and special zones on digital platforms. Specifically, the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center coordinated with the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Conservation Support Fund and TikTok to develop a network of channels to promote culture - tourism and a channel for government - people interaction on digital platforms.

This program aims to select 168 representatives of wards, communes, and special zones to become content creators on culture and tourism. Each TikTok channel will be a locality with its own stories and beauty. 168 accounts - 168 perspectives together create a rich content picture, helping people and tourists explore urban life, community culture, cuisine and many interesting things.

"This is also an important step in digitizing information and enhancing online interaction between the government and people in a friendly, transparent and timely manner," said a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism.

According to the reporter of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, after the 3 localities merged into a new space, a series of survey activities to build tourism products connecting destinations in the central area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau in the past took place. Many businesses also announced new, unique tourism products to attract domestic and international tourists.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Luu, General Director of Saigontourist Travel Services Company (member of Saigontourist Group), said that with the new space, Ho Chi Minh City has the opportunity to build a systematic chain of intra-regional tourism products in the 2025 - 2030 period; connecting more closely between wards, communes, and special zones.

This not only serves the city's residents but also contributes to creating more attraction for tourists, with quality itineraries, constantly innovating, introducing and promoting unique tourism products, focusing on the criteria of developing green tourism, sustainable tourism...

Building high-quality tourist destinations

At Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week 2025, the Department of Tourism will coordinate with the People's Committees of wards, communes, special zones and tourism enterprises to announce tour programs, packages, promotional products with many gifts and accompanying services with incentives for tourists when they come to experience and visit this occasion and the peak tourist season at the end of the year.

Several new tourism programs and services have also been announced, such as the product "Cultural experience - Tan Dinh imprint" (Tan Dinh ward); "Touching the old traces" (Binh Tay ward); "Xuan Hoa - Old features in the new town" (Xuan Hoa ward) or the tour "For a green Con Dao - Green on every journey"; the tour "Sunset cruise on Indochina Star cruise"...

Ms. Do Thi Anh Tuyet, Vice Chairwoman of Tan Dinh Ward People's Committee, said that the locality is a land rich in tradition, possessing a system of quite rich and unique tourism resources. These include Tan Dinh market nearly 100 years old associated with the memories of old Saigon - Gia Dinh; Tran Hung Dao Temple; Phuoc Hai Pagoda (Ngoc Hoang Palace) - a national architectural and artistic relic or the green Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal...

"These unique values ​​create the foundation for the ward to build tourism products with its own identity, both honoring heritage and bringing different experiences to visitors," Ms. Anh Tuyet believes.

According to Mr. Doan Van Du, Chairman of Tan Son Nhat Ward People's Committee, the ward is planning to expand the night market area to develop the night economy. In the near future, metro lines 2 and 5 will pass through this ward. The city also has a decision to establish a suitable public transport and urban space model (TOD) to develop medical tourism products...

Meanwhile, Mr. Vu Hong Thuan, Chairman of Vung Tau Ward People's Committee, said that the locality has many tourism resources but they are not exploited synchronously. This makes many tourists coming to Vung Tau only know about sea tourism and seafood.

With the direction of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the support of tourism businesses, Vung Tau hopes that the Back Beach area, especially the prominent check-in spot of Tam Thang Tower, will gradually form a night city space. From there, Vung Tau ward can create new products for sea tourism.

Need "value chain"

From the perspective of a travel agency directly exploiting products in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Tran The Dung, General Director of Vietluxtour Travel Company, commented that inner-city tourism is entering a stage of in-depth development. Tourists not only need destinations, but also need stories - experiences - emotions associated with each area and locality.

Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week 2025 plays the role of a "media launch pad" and "connecting catalyst", making an important contribution to the development of the city's tourism. For businesses, this is a "golden time" to introduce new products to the public in a wide and synchronous manner. Tourism Week also helps change tourists' perception that Ho Chi Minh City is not only a transit station, but also a destination with depth and countless interesting stories hidden behind each street name, alley...

"To effectively connect wards, communes, and special zones, exploit the full potential and stimulate tourism, a "value chain" strategy based on core elements is needed. In particular, it is necessary to plan by theme, such as connecting tour destinations with emotions and stories, so that these places become inseparable pieces in the overall picture" - Mr. Dung proposed.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tp-hcm-tong-luc-ket-noi-quang-ba-du-lich-196251207210518591.htm