On the first day of the fair, even under the noon’s hot and sunny weather, the fair was packed with visitors dashing from booth to booth, looking for great tours to buy, many of which are promoted with great discounts.

Many of them managed to get themselves tours to Cambodia or Japan at good prices, and some even got nice gifts such as bags and cups, or played fun games for more exciting prizes.

Phạm Thanh Hải, deputy director of Đất Việt Tour, told Việt Nam News at the fair that, “with the motto of 'great tours at good prices', Đất Việt Tour is here to provide customers with attractive tour products for the upcoming summer holiday of 2024.”

It offers both domestic and international tours to Europe, Australia, the US, Japan, South Korea, and others.

The first day of the fair saw around 1,740 tour buyers, with total revenue of over VNĐ26.3 billion (US$1 million), up 49 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, according to the city’s Department of Tourism.

Meanwhile, booths from other localities promoted their own culture and regional specialties.

​For example, a booth for Đắk Lắk Province was organised by the provincial Department of Culture and Tourism to display and exhibit tourism products, including souvenirs and products that are One Commune One Product-certified from Đắk Lắk businesses.

Its display of culturally-rich decorative items, tasty-looking food samples and staff members donning traditional dresses beckoned many people to visit the booth.

Võ Minh Luân, a member of Đắk Lắk Tourism Association, said that “this is an opportunity for all visitors from HCM City as well as the whole country to know more about the culture, history and tourism products of Đắk Lắk Province.”

One of the most stand-out booths is definitely the one promoting tours to Mongolia, organised by the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Mongolia Tourism Organization.

With an eye-catching yurt (a type of Mongolian tent), traditional outfits, items, and even musical performances, this booth garnered attention from many onlookers, eager to find out more about the country’s culture and travel opportunities.

​Nguyễn Xuân Hạnh, Honorary Consul of Mongolia in HCM City, said that the HCM City's 2024 Tourism Fair is an opportunity for Mongolia to introduce to tourism businesses and HCM City locals the country, people and unique cultural traditions of Mongolia - a country that most Vietnamese have few opportunities to experience with their own eyes.

The bilateral visa exemption agreement between Việt Nam and Mongolia, which came into effect on March 7 this year, will facilitate economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

Ganzorig Tsogtoo, board member of the Mongolia Tourism Organization, told Việt Nam News, "Mongolian Airlines will have a direct flight to HCM City from Ulaanbaatar in November. We are promoting Mongolian package tours here for Vietnamese people."

On April 5, as part of the fair, the Go Mongolia Roadshow 2024 programme was held to introduce Mongolia’s culture and tourism co-operation potential with Việt Nam. It is also one of the activities to celebrate the upcoming 70th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations (November 17, 1954 - 2024).

Almost a dozen Mongolian tourism companies and around 40 Vietnamese tourism companies attended the programme, discussing opportunities for co-operation and facilitating tourism between the two countries.

ZolKhuu Ulambayar, general director of Maikhan Camp & TDM Tourist LLC, told Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper that he attended this event in HCM City to promote tourism, and that ever since the visa exemption, more Vietnamese customers have gone on his company’s tours. He also hopes that more and more Vietnamese would know of and visit Mongolia.

​A supermarket for tourism

Lê Trương Hiền Hòa, deputy director of HCM City’s Department of Tourism, said that he hoped that this 20th HCM City Tourism Fair would stimulate domestic tourism for the summer holiday and help localities promote their tourism products and services.

The event solidifies HCM City’s position and role as a leading “tourism supermarket” for the country, he said.

Indeed, tourism companies and provinces around Việt Nam are gathering at the fair, making full use of this opportunity to showcase their best tours and travel destinations to locals, expats and foreign tourists.

​Nguyễn Vũ Anh, a HCM City local, told Việt Nam News that while at first he had just planned to have a look around, he ended up being tempted by all the great discounts and exciting travel opportunities, so much so that he will visit the fair again with his girlfriend to buy a tour.

HCM City, a big economic and tourism centre of Việt Nam, plays an important role in facilitating tourism for the whole country. It has seen no shortage of tourism stimulation events like this one, having hosted many annual tourism festivals, fairs and co-operation facilitation conferences with other localities around the country over the years.

For the rest of 2024, the city will have a river festival, International Travel Expo HCM City, and Tourism Week, all offering local and international businesses a chance to promote their tourism products to local and international visitors.

HCM City is also working with 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta to strengthen co-operation on promoting tourism and developing tourism products in 2024, including at this tourism fair.

“With HCM City's support for tourism businesses from many other provinces, the city is really like a tourism supermarket for local and foreign visitors to know more about tourism products,” said Võ Minh Luân, as his Đắk Lắk booth was swarmed by curious locals.  — VNS