No longer confined to familiar schedules, the tourism picture of Ho Chi Minh City in 2026 is transforming strongly with a multi-layered and rich in-depth experience. This breakthrough stems from the proactiveness of each locality when knowing how to "awaken" local potential, turning each street corner and river into an attractive story to retain tourists.
Right in the central area, Ben Thanh ward clearly marks with the typical product "Ben Thanh ward - Heritage in every street corner", connecting the modern rhythm of the underground metro station with the traditional Ben Thanh market, museums and ancient cultural spaces.
In special landscape areas, the flow of tourism is also constantly changing. Coastal wards such as Vung Tau and Tam Thang maximize the advantages of beaches, historical sites and a chain of vibrant culinary and accommodation services; while Lai Thieu ward creates a highlight for tourists with riverside landscapes, lush fruit gardens associated with ecological service economy.
Along with efforts from the grassroots level, travel businesses are also promoting the exploitation and renewal of inner-city tours to create a rich experience picture. Besides traditional tour routes, the MICE tourism product line (tourism combined with conferences, seminars, and exhibitions) is identified as an important strategic lever.
Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism Pham Huy Binh said that MICE tourism is a type that brings high spending, extends stay time and is a source of high-quality customers. To meet that demand, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council has issued Resolution No. 62 to encourage businesses to do business and attract this flow of customers. Thereby, successfully welcoming large-scale MICE tourist groups from 500 to 1,000 guests.
Also according to the Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, MICE tourism and official tourism require 2 key factors. The first is connectivity and ensuring facilities to meet the official duties of the delegation. The second is to have specific, rich and special products.
After merging administrative boundaries, Ho Chi Minh City fully converges advantages from economic center, technology to ecotourism, sea and islands with a rich product chain to attract and serve tourists. Reality shows that in 2026, the city's tourism industry has made a very breakthrough, contributing an important role to Ho Chi Minh City's double-digit economic growth.
Statistics in the first 8 months of 2026 show that Ho Chi Minh City is estimated to welcome 7.77 million international visitors (reaching 70.6% of the annual plan) and 35.5 million domestic visitors (reaching 71% of the annual plan). Total tourism revenue is estimated to reach 259.69 billion VND and reach 78.7% of the target for the whole year.
Especially, during the peak period of the September 2nd holiday lasting 5 days (August 29 - September 9), the number of visitors flocking to the city increased sharply with an estimated 62,000 international visitors and 1.65 million domestic visitors. Revenue from tourism services during this period is estimated at 4,900 billion VND.
The city's tourism industry sets a target for 2026 to welcome about 11 million international visitors, domestic tourists reach about 50 million; total tourism revenue is estimated at 330,000 billion VND. With stable recovery and growth in both domestic and international tourist markets, Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry is likely to reach the finish line early and exceed the plan set for the whole year 2026.
