Tourists flock to Ho Chi Minh City to watch the parade, hotels are full, Cu Chi tunnel tour is sold out

Not only domestic tourists but also international tourists coming to Ho Chi Minh City during the April 30 holiday have increased sharply; tours to visit historical sites and Cu Chi tunnels have been crowded since March.

Ho Chi Minh City Discovery Tour

Mr. Pham Anh Vu - Deputy General Director of Viet Travel Company, said that not only domestic but also international visitors are particularly interested in the big event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification taking place in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30. The number of visitors registered up to this point has increased by more than 30% compared to the same period, even though this is the end of the international visitor season.

The markets sending the most visitors to Ho Chi Minh City this time are China, South Korea, Cambodia, the Philippines and American visitors.

During the parade rehearsal, the Red Flag unit was one of the first forces to advance across the stage.

Most foreign visitors to Ho Chi Minh City on the occasion of April 30 choose to experience city tours to explore history and culture such as Independence Palace, Ben Thanh Market, War Remnants Museum, Cu Chi Tunnels; participate in water puppetry, A O Show... and are very interested in the parade on April 30.

“On the occasion of the April 30 holiday this year, in the atmosphere of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the country’s reunification, Ho Chi Minh City has many activities and events recreating the heroic historical atmosphere of the day of the liberation of the South. Information about the activities during this long holiday has stimulated tourists to come to Ho Chi Minh City,” Mr. Vu said.

Viet Travel has designed its own package. Tour to celebrate 50 years of national reunification for the group of guests staying in Ho Chi Minh City from April 29 to May 4 to participate. The highlight is the tour to explore the inner city of Ho Chi Minh City and connect tourist attractions by urban waterway from Bach Dang Wharf to Cu Chi tunnels, join in the parade, march... with the people of the city.

Notably, this time the company also designed many half-day and one-day tours for tourists and residents of Ho Chi Minh City. Such as a half-day tour to visit historical sites associated with the great event of the liberation of the South: War Remnants Museum; Independence Palace; Central Post Office and attend the parade and cultural activities on April 30. Or a one-day tour to explore famous historical sites in Ho Chi Minh City and visit Cu Chi tunnels, 18 betel garden villages (Ba Diem - Hoc Mon) ...

Vietluxtour Travel also said that many tourists, especially those from Ho Chi Minh City, are interested in booking city tours during the April 30 holiday. The most popular tour packages are Saigon Special Forces; Saigon Past and Present; District 1 - Night Colors... Many corporate customers are also interested in booking city tours combined with their company's return to the source activities during this occasion.

Besides, the Saigon Special Forces tour line is also especially requested by many customers for custom design.

Cu Chi Tunnels is a destination that many tourists and residents of Ho Chi Minh City want to visit during the April 30 holiday. (Photo: Cu Chi Tunnels Tourist Area)

Vietluxtour currently has about 10 Cultural and Historical tours - Saigon Special Forces, in which half-day and 1-day tours are fully booked such as Oai hung chien khu D; Ky uc Saigon - Cho Lon; Huyen thuy ve sac rung duoc; Cu Chi land of steel and bronze; Saigon Special Forces...

Ms. Tran Phuong Linh, Director of IT Marketing at BenThanh Tourist, also said that the long holiday of April 30 and May 1 this year coincided with the occasion when Ho Chi Minh City organized a series of major events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of national reunification, attracting a large number of tourists to Ho Chi Minh City to participate in the April 30th celebration.

Benthanh Tourist has also designed a series of festival tours to celebrate the 50th anniversary of national reunification to serve tourists coming to Ho Chi Minh City during the 5-day holiday. Tour products to visit and explore Ho Chi Minh City and tours connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the Mekong Delta region are of particular interest to visitors.

This unit recorded that the number of free walking tours to visit Ho Chi Minh City, tours to Cu Chi tunnels, tours to Tay Ninh and tours to the West in April increased by about 20% compared to a few months ago and is expected to serve 1,500-2,000 domestic and foreign tourists to the city during the long holiday.

Hotel fully booked

Since early April, hotels in the central areas of District 1 and District 3 have been fully booked from April 28 to 30. In particular, some hotels with direct views of Bach Dang Wharf, Le Duan Street, etc. to watch fireworks, parades, cannon firing, drone demonstrations, etc. have been fully booked since March. Currently, tourists can only book accommodation for April 29 to 30 in more distant districts.

Historical sites in Ho Chi Minh City are also attractive destinations during the days when the city celebrates the 50th anniversary of its liberation. (Photo: N. Thinh)

Ngoc Tuyen in Phan Thiet City - Binh Thuan said she did not want to miss the special event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South, so she decided to go to Ho Chi Minh City with her daughter to have fun from April 28. However, she could not book a hotel in District 1 and District 3 even though she had proactively connected with them a month ago.

For hotels that can combine to watch the parade on Le Duan Street, Hai Ba Trung, the area near Bach Dang Wharf is even more difficult.

" I decided to rent a hotel in Thu Duc City and then booked a place to watch the parade at a coffee shop near the center for nearly 1 million VND for the two of us, so that my daughter could fully watch this special parade." Ms. Tuyen said.

iVIVU Company also recorded many guests in Ho Chi Minh City and Bien Hoa booking rooms in the city center on April 30 to watch the parade and fireworks to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification. The fully booked areas are around the walking street, along the Saigon River, and near the Independence Palace.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has more than 3,200 tourist accommodation establishments, including more than 130 1-5 star hotels, with about 55,000 rooms.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the highlight of this year's April 30 holiday is a series of large-scale commemorative activities. Travel companies have integrated parades and military parades into city tour schedules, so that tourists have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the heroic atmosphere of the nation like the people of Ho Chi Minh City. The tourism industry has now completed plans to serve the explosive number of visitors during the 5-day holiday on April 30 and May 1. Tours and hotels in the area have seen an increase in bookings since the end of March, and are expected to reach maximum capacity close to the holiday.

The Department of Tourism also requires businesses to expand entertainment services for tourists and add promotional programs. At the same time, improve service quality, diversify products, avoid price increases and price gouging; ensure food safety...

Along with that is decorating, beautifying accommodation and shopping areas, ensuring safety for guests.

Increase metro to 240 trips/day, prepare 5,500 taxis
At the economic and social press conference on the afternoon of April 10, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport and Public Works said that the demand for travel during the April 30 and May 1 holidays this year is forecast to increase, and the Department has developed many traffic diversion and vehicle coordination plans to facilitate people's travel.
Specifically, in 5 days from April 30 to May 4, at the inter-provincial bus station, the Department mobilized 6,600 trips to serve people.
At Tan Son Nhat airport, there are expected to be 12,000 passengers traveling each day. At Saigon Station, the number of passengers is forecast to be more than 2,000 per day.
The Department has planned to work with units to prepare 5,500 taxis and increase bus trips connecting to the airport to serve people's travel needs.
Metro Line 1 alone will increase its frequency from 200 to 240 trips per day. It is expected that there will be 9 trains serving about 120,000 passengers per day. Traffic hotspots will be concentrated at Tan Son Nhat airport, inter-provincial bus station, Southwest gateway area, Phu My bridge, Cat Lai ferry, etc.

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