HCMC builds gateway appeal

HO CHI MINH CITY, 30 January 2013: The commercial capital, Ho Chi Minh City, will sign cooperation deals with other destinations to develop tourism products and expand the city’s role as a major gateway.

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Travel Division director, Nguyen Viet Anh, said the city would sign cooperation deals with Danang, Quang Nam, Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Ngai provinces.

The scheme aims to develop tourism products, attract investments and engage the provinces to build tourism assets, he said.

Except for Quang Ngai province, the other provinces are already attracting international  tourists, but the plan is to channel more visitors through HCMC to destinations within a day’s drive to strengthen the city’s role as a gateway.

The director said: “Ho Chi Minh City’s advantage is that it is a major transit hub for tourists and many tour operators are based here developing tours to other ares and we need to encourage that trend in the future.”

Tourism promotion is one of the main subjects of the cooperation with other provinces.

“The provinces and cities will join travel events and promote each other as well as offering assistance such as running tourism roadshows and organising familiarisation trips for travel and press groups to the central region.”

The city expects to welcome 4.1 million international tourists this year. In 2012, the city attracted 3.1 million international travellers increasing 8.5% in 2011, accounting for 56% of the overall number of foreign arrivals in Vietnam.

Sourced: TTRweekly