Removing infrastructure bottlenecks
Recently, the lack of specialized ports for international passenger ships in Ho Chi Minh City has affected cruise ship tourism activities.
Recently, the ovation of the Seas ship carrying more than 4,000 international visitors could not dock at Cai Mep - Thi Vai port as planned but had to switch to Chan May port (Hue). The reason is that ports in this area are still waiting to complete procedures to add the function of receiving tourist ships to the operating license as required by the Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration.
In that situation, businesses and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism have urgently petitioned. The Ministry of Construction has approved the policy of allowing continued reception of international passenger ships at some Cai Mep - Thi Vai ports until June 2026 to take advantage of the existing seaport infrastructure and meet the needs of tourism development in the area.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao - Head of Tourism Resources Development Planning Department - Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said that from now until June 2026, the unit will continue to coordinate with the Port Management Board in Cai Mep - Thi Vai area to complete the dossier to request a pilot plan to welcome international groups.
In fact, the Cai Mep - Thi Vai port area was built with the main function of serving goods, so to receive international tourists, it is necessary to change the function, upgrade technical infrastructure and train human resources. In the context of strong development of cruise tourism, investing in upgrading and adjusting the functions of ports is an urgent requirement to meet the increasing demand of passengers.
In parallel with the completion of procedures, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism is also working with shipping lines and travel agencies specializing in exploiting cruise ship tourism to prepare the necessary conditions, aiming to add long-term passenger service capabilities, not just stopping at the pilot phase.
According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, recently, the number of international passenger ships to the Cai Mep - Thi Vai area has continuously increased, showing the increasing attraction of Ho Chi Minh City on the regional cruise ship tourism map.
In 2024, this area will welcome 65 trains with about 287,000 visitors. In 2025, there are expected to be 48 trips with about 180,000 visitors, mainly large-scale luxury ships with long-distance journeys. By the end of 2026, there were 118 registered flights arriving at the port with a total of more than 260,000 international visitors.
Expanding cruise tourism space
Ms. Thanh Thao added that, implementing the direction of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the City Department of Construction in coordination with relevant departments and branches has drafted a list of priority projects for investment in waterway transport, including international passenger ports. In the 2026 - 2030 period, it is expected that there will be 3 international passenger ports deployed in the Vung Tau area (formerly) and Khanh Hoi.
"With the development orientation in the coming period, Ho Chi Minh City will have more international passenger ports to meet the development needs of the tourism industry, especially cruise tourism" - Ms. Thao emphasized.
Mr. Nguyen Kien Giang - Deputy Head of the Department of Traffic Management and Maintenance and Exploitation - Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction said that the city's port system is currently planned according to many functions. Cai Mep Wharf is an international transit gateway, Thi Vai Wharf serves the socio-economic needs of the inter-regional economy with processing wharves, containers, bulk goods and bulk goods.
The current planning also clearly determines the scale of international wharf areas in the future. Bai Truoc area (Vung Tau ward) can receive 125,000 GT ships, Mui Den Do area welcomes 60,000 GT ships, while the wharves on the Saigon River are designed to receive 30,000 GT ships.
Currently, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has completed the pre-feasibility study report for the Vung Tau International Passenger Port project, and submitted it to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to propose an investment policy. When implemented, the project will form a large-scale international passenger port, connected to the coastal transportation - urban system, serving the development of tourism transportation and the city's socio-economy.
