The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on October 4 signed an agreement with the HCM City Tourism Association to boost the tourism sector. 

Tourists in Ho Chi Minh City 

The agreement, valid for 2017-2020, would help enhance the role of the association and facilitate the operations of tourism businesses, Tran Vinh Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said. 

“City authorities will have more opportunities to listen to businesses to create favourable conditions for them to develop,” he said. 

The move is also part of the city’s efforts to develop tourism into an economic spearhead, he added. 

The Department of Tourism works with related agencies to implement the terms of the agreement and regularly report on the work and results to the People’s Committee. 

Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of the Department of Tourism, said the agreement would give a boost to tourism businesses and improve tourists’ security. 

The department and related agencies would coordinate with the association for tourism stimulation and promotion programmes, develop tourism products, cooperate with other cities and provinces to diversify tourism products, and train human resources, he added. 

Tran Hung Viet, Chairman of the HCM City Tourism Association, said the city led the country in the number of hotels and travel agents. 

The association and the department would work on concrete activities to boost tourism, he said. 

In the first nine months of the year, the city received 4.2 million foreign visitors, a 16.6 percent increase year-on-year, according to the department. 

Tourism revenues are estimated at 84 trillion VND (3.7 billion USD).

VNA