In addition, the city’s tourism industry also increased coordination with localities to connect two-way tours, for the goal of welcoming high-spending visitors.
Linking products
A few weeks ago, a group of international cruise passengers experienced the Phu Tho Hoa Tunnels in Tan Phu district, visited the coconut garden in Binh Chanh district. They were really interested and surprised by the unusual destinations compared to previous familiar routes such as Notre Dame Cathedral, Ben Thanh Market, and City Post Office.
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| Visitors experience making flower lanterns. (Photo: hochiminhcity.gov.vn) |
“Obviously, HCM City has many interesting destinations. From fact-finding tours to each district having one typical tourism product, businesses will design suitable tours to welcome visitors,” tourism product design expert Phan Yen Ly said.
Currently, foreign tourists to HCM City love to stroll around the streets and enjoy nighttime cuisine through tours by ancient Vespa or Foodtour. Among them, Binh Tay market, Wedding Street, marriage and betel and areca in District 6; and walking around the culinary street and Ho Thi Ky fresh flower market in District 10 drew interest from tourists.
In addition, other interesting tours are also chosen by tourists such as: experiencing the Saigon Rangers tour, river cruises and enjoying culinary delights at night on the Saigon River, exploring the community tourism destination in Thieng Lieng hamlet in Thanh An island commune, Can Gio district.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, Head of Tourism Resources Development Planning Department, HCM City Department of Tourism, since the beginning of the year, HCM City has had many new tourism products such as “Health Street” in District 10, “Green History Tour” in District 3, and “Land of Stories” in District 8. Ms. Thao said, surveying products in each district aims to screen and find typical tourism products of the southern hub.
Strengthening promotion on multi-channels
Numerous businesses suggested that the city's tourism industry needs to strengthen the promotion of domestic and international products aiming to help tourists find out about interesting destinations in the southern city. Recently, HCM City has promoted links and introduced tourism in the US, Australia, and Southeast Asian countries and this effort is remarkable, but still not enough.
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| International visitors visit the Museum of Vietnamese Traditional Medicine in District 10, HCM City. (Photo: sggp.org.vn) |
Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company, said that the business is exploiting some typical products of the city, but to make international visitors more interested, the tourism industry needs a promotion strategy in place for more than 1 year. because international visitors often plan trips 6 months to 1 year in advance.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications - Marketing TST Tourist, said that customer spending trends have changed a lot in the current difficult economic context, especially for large tourist groups. Therefore, the city should consider the advantage of attracting local tourists, including employees and laborers; in combination with of attracting domestic and international MICE groups.
In the long term, the city will continue to clean the channels and build more tourist wharfs to pick up and drop off passengers. The city will also strengthen promotion of the city’s tourism beauty through domestic and international information channels through business people, traders and taxi drivers.
HCM City has great advantage as the economic engine of the country, is home to a series of large tourism and travel businesses, and is always ready with breakthrough ideas./.