Tra Su Melaleuca Forest and Ben Thanh Market Featured in 2024 Attractive Tourist Destination Poll

With a total of nearly 16,000 votes after one week since its launch, the voting program "Attractive tourist destinations in Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta" has attracted the attention of tourists and the community.

Voting program "Attractive tourist destinations of Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta" in 2024

Rừng tràm Trà Sư và chợ Bến Thành nổi bật trong cuộc bình chọn điểm đến du lịch hấp dẫn 2024 - Ảnh 1. — *Ben Thanh Market is a place that tourists cannot miss when coming to Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: QUANG DINH*

Records from the organizing committee show that, as of September 27, there have been a total of 15,930 votes, a vote that shows the community's interest in current tourism trends. Tra Su Melaleuca Forest leads with 3,202 votes, demonstrating the strong attraction of ecotourism. The trend of green and environmentally friendly tourism is increasingly attracting attention from tourists and the community and this is clearly shown in this year's vote. Other ecotourism destinations such as Tuc Dup Hill tourist destination (An Giang) and My Khanh ecotourism village (Can Tho) also received significant attention, with 707 and 708 votes respectively, or Vam Sat ecotourism area with more than 600 votes. In Ho Chi Minh City, Nga Ba Giong martyrs' memorial site ranked second on the list with 2,597 votes. The high number of votes shows that tourists' demand for learning about history, especially revolutionary events, is still very high. In addition, other famous places such as Ben Thanh Market (1,048 votes) and Suoi Tien Cultural Tourism Park (796 votes) still maintain their appeal as tourism symbols of the city. A notable point is that tourist attractions associated with culture and history in Ho Chi Minh City such as Ho Chi Minh Museum, Ao Dai Museum and Southern Women's Museum all received attention, with 735, 727 and 452 votes respectively. The interest of participants partly shows the need to explore cultural heritage, which is becoming more popular in tourists' trips. The potential of tourism in the Mekong Delta is also clearly shown in the voting results. Somo Farm Cuu Long tourist destination (Vinh Long) with 1,075 votes and My Tho cruise port (Tien Giang) with 1,027 votes are proof of the development of agricultural tourism and river tourism. In addition to votes from tourists, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and localities also want destinations, considering this an opportunity to promote and spread to the community. The voting program was launched in April 2024 in Ben Tre. To date, 126 tourist destinations have registered to participate in the voting program (with confirmation of eligibility to participate from 14 affiliated units). During this time, 126 tourist destinations with outstanding tourism resources, products, and services, capable of attracting and meeting the needs of sightseeing, relaxation, entertainment of tourists, etc. will participate in the voting. It is expected that in November 2024, the organizing committee will select and organize a gala to announce the results, award logos, certificates, honorary titles, and combine promotion and communication about the voting results.