Ho Chi Minh City awakens the potential of river tourism

Brand positioning in Ho Chi Minh City

The River Festival is a series of unique cultural - entertainment - artistic activities taking place along the Saigon River, combining experiential activities, shopping promotions, ticket discounts for art performances and a variety of response activities.

The highlight of the festival is the art program with the theme "Saigon - The River Tells Stories" at 8:00 p.m. on August 6 at Saigon Port - Cruise Passenger Port. This is the first live performance program of Ho Chi Minh City recreating the formation of nature and people through the development periods of Gia Dinh - Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City and the river is a heroic "witness".

Ho Chi Minh City has great potential to develop river tourism.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said: " The river festival exploits the values ​​of the city's river and sea resources, contributing to positioning the city's brand - a river city rich in cultural identity".

The Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Development Strategy to 2030 also identifies three groups of tourism products in Ho Chi Minh City: specific tourism products, main tourism products, and supplementary tourism products. Of which, waterway tourism products are identified as a group of tourism products with the potential to become a specific product of the city.

Accordingly, Ho Chi Minh City's waterway tourism products include local products and products connecting Ho Chi Minh City to provinces and tourist centers of the Southeast and Mekong Delta.

"Visitors will have a full experience of the landscape, architecture, culture, history and typical ecosystems of the basins of several major rivers, namely Dong Nai River, Tien River, Hau River and the largest coastal island in Vietnam. Some of Ho Chi Minh City's waterway tourism products also connect with Cambodia and other countries in the region," Ms. Hoa informed.

Stimulus opportunity

According to tourism companies, the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival is an opportunity for travel and accommodation businesses to introduce their products to domestic and international tourists. From the festival, it is possible to connect river experiences and tours from Ho Chi Minh City to the provinces of the West and Southeast, creating diverse and developed tourism economic models.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications - Marketing of TST Tourist Company commented that Ho Chi Minh City has initially had some waterway tour products that are suitable for tourists' needs, with a connection between the local tourist market of Ho Chi Minh City and the destination. The potential for river tourism and river tours of Ho Chi Minh City is huge.

"The river festival will attract the attention of local people and localities, and is a good promotional material when promoting in countries and markets. However, to attract tourists, this needs to be organized to create a regular and periodic tourism product," Mr. Man suggested.

Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Marketing Director, Vietravel Tourism Company also said that the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival is a good opportunity for travel companies to offer river tours in particular and inner-city tourism products in general at good prices to stimulate tourism in Ho Chi Minh City.

"HCMC is both a place of intersection between a dynamic, modern lifestyle and priceless ancient values, and a place where Vietnamese cuisine blends with unique cuisines from other countries. Therefore, after the festival, we hope that Ho Chi Minh City tourism will be more widely promoted to domestic and international tourists," Ms. Khanh said.

The river festival exploits the values ​​of the city's river and sea resources, contributing to positioning the city's brand - a river city rich in cultural identity.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/tphcm-danh-thuc-tiem-nang-du-lich-song-nuoc-185230731143456564.htm