Ho Chi Minh City Super Tourism City: Opportunities and Challenges in Economic Development

Ho Chi Minh City tourism needs a strong brand strategy and synchronous transport infrastructure to create momentum.

After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City has a great opportunity to break through and become a super tourist city. However, according to experts, in the context of increasingly fierce competition between tourist cities in the region, the city is facing key challenges that need to be resolved soon to maintain its competitive advantage.

Exploiting the strengths of each region

Dr. Duong Duc Minh, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Tourism Development Research, emphasized that in the old model, Ho Chi Minh City played the role of almost the only pole in tourism development in the Southeast region. Localities such as Binh Duong or Ba Ria - Vung Tau previously played mainly a supporting role. But after the merger, it is necessary to re-establish the regional structure in the direction of multi-polarity - linkage - coordination, which means the position and role of each locality will be "shifted" to promote advantages.

"Ho Chi Minh City will no longer have a monopoly on the central role but will focus on high-level functions such as organizing international conferences, infrastructure connection centers, tourism data analysis centers and regional management. Binh Duong area will become a development pole of industrial tourism, innovation, serving the conference tourism market (MICE) and dynamic young tourists. Localities in Ba Ria - Vung Tau in the past were not simply weekend resort destinations, but need to develop island tourism - health care - eco-tourism and environmental education" - Dr. Duong Duc Minh said.

Despite many opportunities for breakthroughs, Ho Chi Minh City tourism is still facing key challenges that need to be resolved soon to maintain its competitive advantage.

Travel businesses also agree with the regional branding strategy. Accordingly, it is necessary to position the new Ho Chi Minh City as "City - Beach - Craft Village", a center connecting modern urban areas, blue sea resorts (Vung Tau) and indigenous craft villages (Binh Duong). At the same time, this brand should be associated with international promotional campaigns and large-scale cultural and sports events, creating a "peak tourist season" all year round instead of seasonal as at present.

"Support the development of green tours, tours to experience living with artisans in craft villages, and inter-regional MICE product chains. Funds can be provided to support testing new products and communication for specific tours. Build a common digital tourism information portal; connect ticket booking systems - tourist maps - transportation - customer feedback - accommodation data on a unified platform" - Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Travel Services Company, proposed.

Businesses expect the city government to soon issue substantial support mechanisms on infrastructure, visa policies, night-time economy, new products and digital transformation. At that time, Ho Chi Minh City can break through to become one of the leading destinations in Southeast Asia in terms of international arrivals, length of stay and spending.

Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company, commented that the strongest trend in the coming time is local experiential tourism associated with green and sustainable factors, supported by digital technology. International tourists not only want to visit but also want to live like locals, prioritizing green, clean, safe and socially responsible destinations.

To capture this trend, Ho Chi Minh City needs to accelerate digital transformation in tourism with applications, smart maps, and multilingual explanations; at the same time, build local green products in both the center and the suburbs. It is necessary to encourage businesses to green their services, reduce plastic waste, and carbon emissions. This will help Ho Chi Minh City both meet tourists' tastes and affirm its image as a vibrant, sustainable, and modern destination in the region.

Connecting destinations according to experience logic

However, the lack of connectivity and optimization in transport infrastructure between destinations is creating bottlenecks. Connecting destinations does not follow the logic of experience, such as visitors arriving in the central area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City, then not having convenient means to continue to areas in Binh Duong or Ba Ria - Vung Tau before in a seamless journey.

Not to mention, the transportation infrastructure and parking for tourist groups and tourist vehicles are difficult to get to the center, there is a lack of parking for large groups; the connection between tourist attractions, shopping areas, and hotels is still fragmented. The night economy has not been clearly defined, lacking time frames, areas, and standards for businesses to confidently invest. Therefore, night products are not rich and lack symbolism.

"There is a lack of a center - hub for events - MICE - contemporary culture when the megacity does not have a large exhibition and conference center combined with a creative space to organize shows, festivals, international fairs..." - said Mr. Tran Quang Duy, Director of Penguin Travel Service Company.

In particular, in recent days, information related to the proposal to transfer all international flights from Tan Son Nhat airport to Long Thanh airport - after being put into operation in 2026 - has not only attracted the attention of the people but also worried tourists and those working in the tourism industry.

According to Mr. Thi Quoc Duy, Director of the Retail Travel Center, BenThanh Tourist Company, he is concerned that up to now there has been no plan to invest in and build a train (subway or express train) connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Long Thanh airport. "Even when going from Tan Son Nhat airport to the city center, there is a lack of effective public transport, mainly having to use taxis, and traffic jams are easy to happen. It is urgent to build a separate traffic connection system between the terminals and from the airport to the center. In fact, the distance from Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh airport is only about 40-50 km, not too far. This is an urgent problem that Ho Chi Minh City needs to solve when discussing traffic planning connecting to Long Thanh airport" - Mr. Thi Quoc Duy said.

According to Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, the lack of a specific connection route during the transition period between Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh airports makes it difficult for travel companies to build effective tour products. After the expansion, Ho Chi Minh City only has an area of ​​over 6,772 km², a population of over 14 million people, but the inner-suburban and inter-regional transport infrastructure still depends on overloaded roads. Tourists to Ho Chi Minh City are lacking "green - fast - unique" travel experiences such as electric trains, high-speed trains, tourist canoes, etc.

"High logistics costs and inconvenient transportation reduce the efficiency of exploiting inter-provincial tours lasting 5-7 days, combining urban - sea - ecology - culture. Therefore, it is necessary to prioritize connections by river and high-speed trains, helping tourists move conveniently between destinations of the megacity. Improve the tourist bus system, parking lots, rest stops for group vehicles, and separate lanes for tourist vehicles connecting the airport and tourist attractions" - Ms. Thanh Tra suggested.

Identify key product groups

According to Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, Director of Marketing and Communications Department - Vietluxtour Travel Company, Ho Chi Minh City should identify key product groups to serve domestic and international tourist markets such as night economy on the Saigon River (dinner on cruise, art performances, bar/club tours along the river); resort tourism - MICE combined with conferences, teambuilding, golf; island tourism... are big trends, especially with corporate groups from the Asian market... "The common point of these products is to create something new for city tourism, from which tourists stay longer, spend more, and have stories to tell after the trip, which is also an effective way of promotion" - she said.

At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City needs to quickly create a "City Pass 24/48/72h" (tourist card) integrating transportation - attractions - night shows, which is both convenient and encourages tourists to increase their experiences, explore the city's many identities and spend more.

(To be continued)

(*) See Lao Dong Newspaper from September 23 issue

Source: https://nld.com.vn/sieu-do-thi-du-lich-da-rat-gan-nhieu-kien-giai-tu-thuc-tien-196250923212111493.htm