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| Visitors experience traditional Vietnamese crafts at IMEX Frankfurt Fair (Germany). (Photo: baovanhoa.vn) |
Enhancing connections with international markets
Ho Chi Minh City's tourism sector emphasizes promoting and marketing tourism abroad and strengthening tourism cooperation with international partners through diplomatic networks. A notable highlight of the international promotion program is the Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion at the IMEX Frankfurt Fair (Germany) from May 14 to 16, 2024. At the fair, Ho Chi Minh City presented a unique booth showcasing the city's diverse and rich culture, along with its various tourism products and services.
Alongside the display at IMEX Frankfurt 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism organized presentations right at the booth to introduce and promote the city's new and outstanding tourism products, aiming to attract interest and cooperation from international partners.
The Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Program was also promoted in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia from May 13 to 17, 2024. This program provided information about Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City's tourism products and services to the Australian public, creating opportunities for Ho Chi Minh City tourism businesses to meet Australian partners and expand cooperation opportunities in the tourism sector.
Other notable upcoming programs include the Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion at the IMEX America Fair (US) in October 2024, the ITB Asia Fair (Singapore) in October 2024, and the WTM London Fair (UK) in November 2024.
In 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism will also strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad and international organizations such as the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), the Global Cities Tourism Promotion Organization (TPO), and the Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations (AFECA), to spread the image of the city's tourism to international visitors.
At the end of June 2024, representatives of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism had a meeting with Ms. Chen Mei-Hsiu, Director of the Taichung City Tourism and Travel Bureau, Taiwan (China). Both sides shared about current tourism activities and discussed methods to promote tourism development between Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City with Taichung City, Taiwan (China). In the first five months of 2024, Taiwan (China) ranked among the top five international tourist markets to Ho Chi Minh City, with about 530,000 visitors to Vietnam and about 193,000 visitors to Ho Chi Minh City.
During a meeting in June 2024 with Mr. Suren Baghdasaryan, Armenia Ambassador to Vietnam, both parties agreed to continuously promote the image of Ho Chi Minh City's tourism and organize tourism promotion activities to Armenia and vice versa.
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| Tour on Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe Canal attracts international tourists. (Photo: baodautu.vn) |
Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, stated that the city has proposed coordinating with embassies and tourism promotion agencies of other countries in exchanging information and promoting the culture, people and tourism of Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, to the local people through various media channels. She also extended an invitation to the embassies and tourism promotion agencies to participate in the International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC 2024) scheduled from September 5 to 7, 2024, and to organize Famtrip and Presstrip groups to survey destinations in Ho Chi Minh City as soon as possible.
Promoting tourism on international media channels
Ho Chi Minh City's tourism sector continuously fosters cooperation with international media agencies and news organizations such as CNN, Discovery, BBC News, PR Newswire, VNPR and Heritage Magazine to enhance the promotion of the city's tourism.
The "Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City" program saw the city's tourism image being promoted on the renowned American television channel CNN for the first time. The promotional videos aired on CNN featured two themes, "Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City" and "Ho Chi Minh City - Vibrant City," broadcasted in the Asia-Pacific and North American regions. These videos showcased various perspectives, colorful events and festivals, unique cuisine and new tourism products, aiming to inspire visitors to experience the vibrant, dynamic, friendly and forward-looking city.
Mr. Duong Anh Duc, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, mentioned that Ho Chi Minh City and CNN still have numerous areas for potential cooperation to create valuable media products benefiting both sides. Ho Chi Minh City will further enhance collaboration with CNN and its partners to deeply introduce the city's tourism potential, such as its cultural diversity, people and attractions.
Alongside developing the domestic market, promoting Ho Chi Minh City's tourism image internationally is expected to play a pivotal role in Vietnam's tourism recovery and growth./.