Busy with cruise passengers

In November, the southern city welcomed thousands of cruise passengers to visit and have experiences on the Saigon River and Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal. Ms. Nguyen Thi Vuong, Executive Manager of Nhieu Loc Boat Company Limited, said: “Tourism products on the canal are competitive with many other destinations, attracting not only domestic tourists but international tourists.” Currently, international visitors account for more than 50% of visitors on this tourist route.

According to Ms. Vuong, the 60-minute tour itinerary gives visitors time to enjoy Don ca tai tu music performances and learn about 9 bridges spanning the canal such as Hoang Hoa Tham, Tran Khanh Du, Kieu and Cong Ly. A special highlight of this tour is that visitors will experience releasing fish to improve the water source, contributing to enhancing the rich ecosystem of the canal. Under the bridges, multi-colored lights have been installed, becoming a new and interesting check-in point for tourists.

The cruise ship group visiting the Ho Chi Minh City Museum. (Photo: sggp.org.vn)

Nearly 3 weeks ago, Saigontourist Travel also welcomed thousands of cruise passengers from Celebrity Cruises to visit famous destinations in Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City. While staying in the city, tourists visited the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Ben Thanh Market and Thong Nhat Hall. At the same time, they had opportunities to enjoy traditional cultural and artistic performances and learn about folk games. According to Saigontourist, the group of multinational cruise passengers (British, German, the US and more) has a high spending level, are interested in learning about indigenous cultural and historical tourism experiences.

The City Department of Tourism estimates that in 2023, international visitors to the city will reach about 5 million, an increase of 44.3% over the same period last year. Domestic tourist arrivals are forecast to reach about 35 million visitors. Total revenue from tourists is estimated to be about 160 trillion VND. In the first 10 months of 2023 alone, the hub welcomed over 4 million international visitors, with a total tourism revenue of about 140 trillion VND.

Bustling tours, new routes

According to travel agencies such as Saigontourist, Vietravel and TST Tourist, year-end and Tet tours are quite bustling. Among these, short tours and routes in the inner city, connecting Ho Chi Minh City to other provinces, are being welcomed.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications and Marketing of TST Tourist, said that this year, tourists from the middle income segment and above did not wait to hunt for cheap tours but proactively looked for opportunities to reserve seats for quality tours.

Ho Chi Minh City opens new tours to welcome international visitors. (Photo: vnexpress.vn) 

Typically, “Thu Duc Spring Trip” tour (1 day) developed by TST Tourist has drawn considerable interest from customers. Mr. Man informed that visitors will be given a set of Ao Dai photos at the Ao Dai Museum and visit Thu Duc apricot village, a place that specializes in providing decorative flowers for Nguyen Hue Flower Street every Tet holiday. In addition, business in the city also design private tours according to customer orders.

In early December, the City Department of Tourism officially launched the 3rd Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week with the theme “Green on every journey”. This is the next activity of the tourism industry in coordination with relevant departments and units along with the People's Committee of Thu Duc City and districts. The goal is to stimulate domestic and international tourism demand, creating opportunities for tourism businesses to introduce tourism products, services and promotions for 2024.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the City Department of Tourism, said that Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week 2023, scheduled from December 4 to 10, will become a series of communication activities for the year-end festival season. As scheduled, each week, the city will announce at least one new tourism product.

Currently, the city has about 60 tourism products, including many typical products of districts and Thu Duc City./.

BTA