Ho Chi Minh City after merger: Creating a special tourism space

Tourists experience and explore nature in Con Dao.

Integrated tourism space

The new Ho Chi Minh City has 113 wards, 54 communes, 1 special zone, an area of 6,772.65 km², a population of more than 14 million people (9.2 times the area and 2.5 times the population of Singapore), becoming the largest metropolis in Vietnam.

Before the merger, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau were two key tourist destinations in the south. After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City became a "tourism-economic super city", the only locality that owns the Saigon-Con Dao intra-provincial flight route. With 425km of coastline, including the Con Dao special zone, the expansion of administrative boundaries opens up opportunities to exploit many new resources. From there, an "integrated tourism space" with three pillars was formed: urban-industrial-island. The city center focuses on cultural tourism, festivals, and events; the Can Gio-Vung Tau area strongly develops eco-tourism, sea resorts, and cruise tourism; and Binh Duong becomes a destination for industrial tourism, river ecology, and traditional craft villages.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the industry has a huge development potential with 808 resources, 7,211 tourism businesses and 9,540 tour guides. Synchronous transport infrastructure, including Long Thanh airport and the north-south railway, will create a driving force for regional connectivity, helping domestic and foreign tourists easily access new destinations.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, affirmed: The city is facing a golden opportunity to restructure the tourism industry, shifting from separate regional development to an integrated, multi-center, sustainable model.

From an expert perspective, Dr. Duong Duc Minh, Deputy Director of the Institute for Economic and Tourism Development Research, said that after the merger, Ho Chi Minh City's tourism position has been raised to a new level. With diverse advantages, the city is not only an "economic super city" but also a "super creative tourism ecosystem", converging all types from sea and islands, ecology, smart cities, industry to history, culture and spirituality.

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Tran Van Tuan said that in recent times, the tourism industry has made many positive contributions. The tourism business community not only creates material value but also brings spiritual value to the people and tourists. "The city has focused on perfecting policies for developing cultural-historical tourism, cuisine, shopping, ecological agriculture, waterways, healthcare, etc. In the coming time, we will continue to build support mechanisms, encourage people and businesses to join hands, creating a driving force to promote the strong development of the tourism industry," he emphasized.

The ceremony of welcoming the Ong at the Thang Tam Whale Festival.

From the city along the river to the sea

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said that typical product groups are being built along the axis of linked experiences. Typical is the journey "From the city along the river to the sea" connecting central urban spaces, riverside ecological areas and beach resorts in a continuous route; or the "Sea Culture" chain associated with beliefs, heritage and ecology. Specialized products such as cuisine, night tourism, and craft villages are also developed to meet the diverse needs of tourists.

Inter-regional expressways such as Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay, Ben Luc-Long Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City-Chon Thanh will effectively connect urban, industrial and coastal areas, forming a tourism development corridor along specialized routes.

According to Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, the tourism industry is focusing on reforming administrative procedures, issuing a set of management guidelines and providing standard information for businesses. This is an important step to improve competitiveness, build a professional and friendly tourism environment, and ensure a complete experience for tourists.

Representatives of travel agencies also said they are reviewing and adjusting old tours and developing new products. Mr. Tran Dinh Huy, General Director of Bac Trung Nam Ban Viet Tourism Co., Ltd. commented: "The merger opens up great opportunities, helping Ho Chi Minh City reposition its tourism brand, expand the experience space, and bring about outstanding development in tour routes."

Many other businesses also launched new products: Vietluxtour operates the "City break - Sea and Meditation" tour connecting Ho Chi Minh City to craft villages and Vung Tau beach; Vietourist Holdings is preparing to open the "From the city to the gold forest, silver sea" tour with a journey by high-speed train and returning by plane from the city center to Con Dao; at the same time, building a product combining inner-city tourism in Saigon with experiences of the sea, craft villages, and ecology in Vung Tau and Binh Duong.

With impressive growth momentum and a product strategy associated with expanding space, Ho Chi Minh City is affirming its role as an international tourism center, both maintaining the domestic tourist market and creating new attractions for global tourists.

PHU MY

Source: https://nhandan.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-sau-hop-nhat-kien-tao-khong-gian-du-lich-dac-biet-post910784.html