River festival brings in revenue of 4,250 billion VND for Ho Chi Minh City's service and tourism industry

Want to maintain regular shows

This year's Ho Chi Minh City River Festival was truly vibrant and bustling, leaving an impression on the hearts of the city's residents and tourists. According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, during the 10 days of organization with nearly 20 activities, the Festival attracted 4.5 million people and tourists to participate and interact directly in the event's activities.

Regarding the effectiveness of the festival, in addition to contributing directly to the growth of the tourism industry and waterway services, it also creates an effect of attracting a large number of tourists to other destinations in the area. The total number of visitors to Ho Chi Minh City from May 31 to June 9 was 1.3 million, of which international visitors were 121,000 and domestic visitors were more than 1.1 million. Total tourism and service revenue reached 4,250 billion VND.

In addition, the Festival has created a strong "wave" of response on social networks and media channels, becoming the top news of interest on the opening day. Not only that, the event also created a trend of combining education with entertainment, honoring historical and cultural values, and national pride through the grand musical performed right on the banks of the heritage river.

Many locals and tourists want to maintain the show "Legendary Train" so that more people have the opportunity to watch it after the festival ends. (Photo: TH)

On the opening night, the Festival attracted the attention of a large number of people with special activities such as: the artistic fireworks program - for the first time there were 3 fireworks display points on the Saigon River, the sparkling boat parade combined with the artistic light show (drone show) that lit up the entire sky of Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms. Uyen Chi (District 1) commented that the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival is a series of very meaningful and cultural activities. The event took place right at the time when students started their summer vacation, so many families had time to have fun and experience interesting activities together, right in the center of Ho Chi Minh City without having to go far.

Ms. Uyen Chi hopes that the Festival can last longer, so that people have more time to experience it. “I visited many places such as the festival space at Thi Nghe canal, Binh Dong wharf. I found each place to have its own unique features. For example, on the opening night, the art performance program was extremely impressive and attractive. And today, I also found the underwater performances very interesting.”

Crowds of people jostle to visit the culinary space of the 2nd Ho Chi Minh City River and Water Festival. (Photo: TH)

A series of activities took place, but the highlight of the Festival was still the show "Story River Season 2" with the theme "Legendary Train". Many people in Ho Chi Minh City expressed regret for not being able to "hunt" for tickets to directly enjoy this special, magnificent art program.

Mr. Tran Vinh Thai (living in Thu Duc City) shared that there have been 2 Festival seasons but every year, this show only performs for one night only. Not only Mr. Thai but many locals and tourists expressed their wish that in the following Festival seasons, the size of the stage and the frequency of performances should be increased. The city can even open ticket sales for regular shows to both stimulate tourism and target the public so that many people have the opportunity to watch after the Festival ends.

“I am very satisfied with the scale and professionalism of this River Festival. As for the opening night, with such a large scale show, if it only takes place once, it will be a pity for tourists and locals who do not have the opportunity to attend. Because this is not only a cultural activity but also carries many meanings and lessons about the history of the nation,” Mr. Tran Vinh Thai shared.

Many activities cannot be exploited on tour yet.

Compared to the first time, the 2nd Ho Chi Minh City River Festival has expanded in terms of time scale and activities throughout the event. Perhaps because of that, there have been some "sand grains" in some spaces and activities. For example, as an activity within the framework of the 2nd Ho Chi Minh City River Festival, unlike the unexpectedly cheap fruit prices at the Southern Fruit Festival held at Suoi Tien, the fruit prices at the "on the wharf, under the boat" Fruit Week in District 8 were criticized as expensive.

On the other hand, the space and organization of this event also received many complaints from visitors. Ms. Le Minh Thu (in Thu Duc City) said that she was very excited to wear a traditional Vietnamese dress to visit and take photos at the "on the wharf, under the boat" space above, but the reality made her disappointed. Because everything was very different from what she imagined.

“I feel that it is not like what I imagined, as well as the information I saw from the media. 'On the wharf, under the boat' but here I see only trading activities on the shore, there are no boats or scenes recreating the floating market. In addition, the price of fruit sold here is also more expensive than the market price", Ms. Le Minh Thu shared.

The “On the Wharf, Under the Boat” Fruit Week in District 8 disappointed many people because it did not recreate the floating market scene. (Photo: TH)

Some travel businesses assessed that, apart from the outdoor musical show “Legendary Train”, the remaining activities at the Festival were not attractive enough to build into a specific tour product and introduce to tourists.

A representative of a travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City said: “After the opening ceremony, we saw that the Organizing Committee organized activities such as: water sports, fruit festivals, “on the wharf, under the boat” space, exhibition activities, parades, displays of decorative and artistic products... However, we, as travel agencies, have not been able to connect to build a specific package tour product that is attractive enough to introduce to tourists.”

It is undeniable that the River Festival brings positive effects to the service and tourism industry of Ho Chi Minh City. However, some activities that are of great interest to the public need to be maintained to meet the expectations of the people and tourists and to make the Festival a brand of Ho Chi Minh City.

Source: https://vov.vn/du-lich/le-hoi-song-nuoc-dem-doanh-thu-4250-ty-dong-cho-nganh-dich-vu-du-lich-tphcm-post1101288.vov