Sai Gon double-decker bus tour, national special historical relic site Independence Palace, and popular ‘banh xeo’ (sizzling rice pancake) are among the 100 interesting facts about HCM City in 2023, which were announced at a ceremony held by the municipal Department of Tourism on December 3.
The programme ‘HCM City – 100 interesting facts’ was launched in December last year to promote the city as an attractive destination. It features 10 categories covering exciting sightseeing programmes, 10 exciting attractions, entertainment spots, shopping spots, tourist accommodation establishments, restaurants, coffee shops, tourism, cultural and sports events, check-in places, and delicacies.
At the ceremony, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Dung stressed the city’s exciting experiences have been shaped up by the vibrant blend of cultures, cuisines, arts and destinations, and expressed his hope that the programme will be a highlight of the city’s tourism sector in the end of 2023, making
contributions to popularising local images and destinations.
He ordered competent organisations to make unceasing efforts to improve tourism service quality to meet the expectation of the visitors as well as local tourism’s competitive capacity.
The programme is expected to become a locomotive that motivates local service providers to contribute to the city’s socio-economic development, he said.
Ho Chi Minh City welcomed more than 30 million domestic and foreign visitors during January – October, according to the municipal Department of Tourism. The number included 4.12 million foreign tourists, or 82% of the set target.
Revenue from accommodation and catering services was more than 89.45 trillion VND (3.6 billion USD), and that from travel service was over 8.9 trillion VND, up 30.6% and 68.3% year on year, respectively.
As the peak tourism season approaches, the city hopes to serve 5 million international visitors and more than 35 million domestic ones, and gain some 160 trillion VND in tourism revenue
for the whole 2023.
It also sets a target of welcoming 6 million foreign visitors who will spend around 190 trillion VND next year. Given stable political-economic conditions, and good recovery of tourism and related industries, the Vietnamese southern hub expects to welcome a tourist influx from the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, and China./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency