Ho Chi Minh City: Towards a regional tourist super city

TP. Hồ Chí Minh: Hướng đến siêu đô thị du lịch vùng - Ảnh 1. — Ho Chi Minh City is becoming an attractive destination for tourists. Photo: HT

Open space, potential for connection

After merging administrative boundaries with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City has not only expanded its socio-economic development scale, but also created a big boost for the tourism industry. Industry experts say that the city is gradually becoming a leading large-scale tourist transit point in Vietnam. From Ho Chi Minh City, tourist routes will be connected, helping tourists have more diverse experiences. Mr. Tu Quy Thanh - Director of Lien Bang Tourism Company said that the merger between provinces and cities helps the city's tourism industry attract more tourists. Products and services of each locality are now naturally connected to each other, opening up new potential. In particular, transportation is more convenient, moving between destinations is easier, logistics is improved...

Also from the perspective of a travel agency, Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang - Deputy General Director of Vietravel believes that Ho Chi Minh City can become a new tourist area with a colorful picture combining modern urban areas, dynamic industrial zones, blue sea, mangrove forests, and ancient cultural heritages intertwined. "Ho Chi Minh City is no longer limited by administrative boundaries as before. Currently, travel agencies can design multi-destination combo tours in 2 - 4 days. This type is very suitable for MICE guests, business guests or short-term international guests" - Ms. Hoang shared.

According to representatives of travel companies, the merger also opens up many new product ideas. Specifically, from health care tourism near urban areas for businessmen, to sea, mountain and forest resort routes connected by highways. Including eco-tourism experience packages in Can Gio, Con Dao, combined with high-end resorts in Long Hai.

With the potential for regional connectivity, the infrastructure connection is being promoted and the dynamism of the business community, Ho Chi Minh City tourism after the merger is growing strongly. The latest data also shows a clear sign of improvement from this industry. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, in July 2025 alone, Ho Chi Minh City welcomed about 695,930 international visitors, an increase of 75.3% over the same period in 2024. In the first 7 months of the year, the city welcomed more than 4.5 million international visitors, an increase of nearly 48% over the same period and reaching nearly 54% of the 2025 plan. These are impressive numbers, reflecting the new attraction after Ho Chi Minh City merged its boundaries, while opening up opportunities for businesses to adjust their business plans and launch new product packages early in the third quarter of this year.

New strategy, breakthrough expectation

Along with the natural connection of businesses, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism has also proactively outlined new steps. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao - Head of the Department of Planning and Development of Tourism Resources, said that in the near future, the Department will announce a list of newly exploited resources, with about 500 destinations in the first phase. This is an important preparation step to build a strategy for developing the city's tourism until 2030, including brand positioning, defining core values and forming a system of typical products. "We focus on product groups with strengths: festivals, events, waterway tourism, products associated with the cultural values of Ho Chi Minh City, night tourism, agricultural, ecological and community tourism" - Ms. Thao said.

The resonance of the three localities after the merger is opening a new development phase for tourism in Ho Chi Minh City, making it richer, more distinctive and capable of retaining tourists longer. With these positive signals, the tourism industry of the city named after Uncle Ho is ready to break through, becoming an unmissable destination on the regional tourism map. Mr. Tran Phu Lu - Director of the Center for Trade and Investment Promotion of Ho Chi Minh City. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association (ITPC), “The merger of administrative units from July 1, 2025 has opened up many new potentials for the city’s tourism industry, contributing to expanding development space, diversifying tourism products and strengthening regional connectivity. This is an important opportunity for the city to reorganize the tourism ecosystem in a synchronous, modern direction and in line with the orientation of long-term sustainable development. At the same time, investment in transport infrastructure and tourism support services will create more favorable conditions for attracting socialized resources and improving connectivity between destinations.”

From a management perspective, Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism affirmed that the city is forming a "regional tourism super city". This opportunity not only helps to diversify products, extend the length of stay, increase average spending but also reduce connection costs thanks to new infrastructure systems such as highways, metro, seaports and Long Thanh international airport. The representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism also pointed out the new role of Ho Chi Minh City is to coordinate and organize major cultural events, apply smart tourism; while Binh Duong develops industrial tourism products, Ba Ria - Vung Tau exploits island resorts. "This resonance makes Ho Chi Minh City tourism both rich and unique, capable of retaining tourists longer and more attractive" - Mr. Hoa said.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the city currently has outstanding advantages in terms of transport infrastructure and services. Inter-regional expressways such as Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay, Ben Luc - Long Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City - Chon Thanh will form a corridor axis for tourism development along specialized routes. The system of seaports, logistics, inland waterways and major rivers opens up space for river tourism development. In addition, with nearly 93,000 accommodation rooms, from high-end hotels to homestays, eco-resorts, along with a system of shopping centers, international hospitals, golf courses, entertainment areas... the city is fully capable of receiving both large-scale domestic guests and high-end international guests.

According to Dai Doan Ket newspaper

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-huong-den-sieu-do-thi-du-lich-vung-20250729100210635.htm