Phan Thi Thang, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People's Committee, said that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the behaviour and habits of tourists. Lack of travel for the two years of the pandemic has encouraged travelers to make better use of their time, yielding creative forms of tourism trends such as “bleisure” travel.

This type of tourism is to become a popular lifestyle when balancing work and leisure, bringing many benefits to stakeholders and a multi-industry supply chain, she said, adding that it will save time, costs and reduce stress for tourists, thereby improving their productivity and providing leisure time on the same journey.

Regarding tourism firms, it brings in more customers and increases revenue even in the low season, Thang said, noting that HCM City has great potential for developing bleisure travel.

The southern metropolis has over 4,000 hotels and lodging facilities with nearly 50,000 guest rooms, some 1,280 travel firms and some 7,000 tour guides. Up to 60% of the tour hosts are certified as international tour guides. It is an international trade centre, connecting many countries and territories. The city houses Tan Son Nhat international airport which receives millions of domestic and international visitors a year.

HCM City is also a locality with many famous architectures and heritages as well as a variety of products and services for travelers.

The city aims to elevate the promotion of MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, exhibition) tourism in post- COVID-19 period, according to a representative of the Department of Tourism.

This is also one of the solutions to promote international tourism, along with collaboration with ministries, agencies, Vietnamese representative offices abroad and international partners to bring tourists to HCM City, the representative said.

As soon as the country reopened to international travelers, the city’s tourism industry received a group of 130 tourists from the US.

In addition to the issuance of tourism stimulus policies, building new products and focusing on developing bleisure travel and MICE tourism, the city also welcomed tourists that arrive by cruise ships.

HCM City is a well-known and attractive destination in the travel itinerary of major international shipping lines such as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Group, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and Viking Cruises.

The Department of Tourism believed cruise ships are a high potential type of tourism that will serve to attract new international visitors to the city in the future./VNA