Why do customers queue for hours to buy 1-2 loaves of bread at a festival in Ho Chi Minh City?

In just 4 days (from March 21 to 24) of the 3rd Vietnam Bread Festival 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City, it is estimated that there will be nearly 200,000 visitors coming to enjoy and experience the cuisine at the festival, an increase of 30% compared to the original forecast. This can be said to be a sudden number.

The Lao Dong Newspaper spoke with Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, about the festival's appeal.

* Reporter: On the last day of the festival (March 24), it was noted that there were still many visitors lining up to buy bread and enjoy other specialties at the booths. Were you surprised by the number of visitors to the festival?

+ Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh: We initially estimate that about 150,000 visitors will come, visit, enjoy bread in particular and cuisine at the festival.

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  Customers stand in line in the sun at noon to buy bread at a festival in Ho Chi Minh City.

But in reality, there were many more customers. Many customers waited in line for 1-2 hours just to buy 1-2 loaves of bread and then checked in happily and excitedly, despite the hot weather.

In the evening, I was also surprised to see long lines of customers lining up in front of many famous bread brands in Ho Chi Minh City.

Customers line up to buy bread at the 3rd Vietnam Bread Festival 2025, taking place at Le Van Tam Park, Ho Chi Minh City, from March 21 to 24.

This year’s festival season, the Organizing Committee determined from the beginning to prioritize quality and be more meticulous in the organization. In addition to more than a dozen booths introducing local OCOP products, the remaining more than 100 booths are all bread and bread-related products serving diners.

In particular, the festival gathers famous bread brands of Ho Chi Minh City and the whole country, from Huynh Hoa bread, Nguyen Sinh Bistro bread, Cu Ly bread, Tang bread, 7 Ho bread, Trang bread...

* The price of each loaf of bread is not cheap compared to other dishes, even a loaf of bread costs approximately 80,000 VND, but why are there still many customers?

+ The prices of bread products sold at the festival do not change compared to the prices sold outside at the stores of the brands, accompanied by many promotional programs, gifts and a cultural experience area. For example, entering the festival from the main gate, there is a check-in area with 12 zodiac animals shaped from bread, which is very popular with customers; the area of ​​bread past and present introduces the history of formation and development of Vietnamese bread through the ages...

The large number of visitors shows the support and positive response of the people and tourists, including many international visitors.

The festival also attracts many international visitors to come and enjoy Vietnamese bread.

* Still complaining about difficult parking, queuing for hours and then the stall said it ran out of bread?

+ It is true that there are still things that need to be improved and we also take note of the comments to improve next year. In particular, the organizing committee is studying the expansion of the scale of the festival, adding products, improving the way of doing things to make the festival even better.

Regarding customers waiting in line for a long time and then running out of bread, there are also reports of localized sales, due to the large number of customers due to some stalls not calculating properly. There are many stalls that sell more than 1,000 loaves of bread every day...

The Vietnamese Bread Festival is not only an opportunity for diners to enjoy famous and typical bread brands in Ho Chi Minh City, but also contributes to promoting Vietnamese cuisine and tourism to international friends.

The price of a loaf of bread can be up to nearly 80,000 VND but customers still line up to buy it in large numbers.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/vi-sao-khach-xep-hang-ca-tieng-de-mua-1-2-o-banh-mi-tai-le-hoi-o-tp-hcm-196250325145609873.htm