The HCMC government will draw up a specific development plan for the tourism sector with a vision to 2030, and this strategy will be made available thanks to a sum of US$2 million sponsored by an enterprise, said HCMC vice chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen.

Foreign tourists are seen in downtown HCMC

At a conference on the performance of the city’s tourism sector last year and key missions for this year held on January 11, Tuyen said the US$2-million investment would help the city choose the best consulting firms to develop a feasible tourism development plan. There are four to five consultants keen on the job but the city would choose official consultants after the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet.

The target to welcome 7.5 million international tourists in 2018 is tough, so are other missions, so the city needs a long-term and effective development strategy, Tuyen said.

The HCMC Department of Tourism and a company had earlier worked on a tourism strategy, but failed to draw up the plan, so the city government now wants the participation of a foreign consultant.

The city will improve infrastructure and service quality to serve tourism development, especially traffic facilities, wharfs for waterway tourism, human resource development and new tourism products.

Tuyen asked the municipal Department of Tourism to cooperate with national carrier Vietnam Airlines and other relevant agencies to organize shopping programs to lure more visitors to the city. The department will also have to come up with specific activities to develop the Japanese market on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations.

Besides, the department was assigned to hire the world’s leading tourism experts for training the local workforce, and to invest more in tourism products and services.

According to some enterprises participating in the conference, the city should determine its key tourism products rather than introducing all possible directions at random such as waterborne, agricultural, dental and shopping tourism.

Nguyen Quoc Ky, general director of Vietravel, said the city currently has no tourism products at night when tourists’ spending is high. The city should also clarify specific products for each area.

According to the HCMC Department of Tourism, around 6.4 million international tourists and 24.9 million domestic visitors came to the city last year, growing 22.9% and 14.6% year-on-year respectively, generating total revenue of nearly VND116 trillion (US$5.1 billion), up 12.6% over 2016.

The sector expects to welcome 7.5 million foreign guests and 29 million domestic tourists this year and obtain revenue of VND138 trillion. SGT