A city remembered for the items tourists buy and bring back will have a different vitality from a city only remembered for its attractions.
Ho Chi Minh City has advantages in traditional markets, fashion stores, handicrafts, OCOP goods, cuisine, tailoring services... coexisting in an urban space. Tourists can go to Ben Thanh market, order a vest, buy souvenirs, enjoy street food and then continue to experience the city at night.
It is a shopping ecosystem that not every destination has. But don't be compelled, Ho Chi Minh City can sell even more, if it knows how to sell things of higher value.
A conical hat, a souvenir or a set of clothes is not just a commodity, but also a story about Vietnam, the question is whether we tell that story attractively or not.
Modern shopping economy does not compete with cheap prices, if only relying on "cheap", other destinations can completely overcome it. Ho Chi Minh City needs to shift from selling goods to selling the value of experience.
To do so, the city needs shopping spaces with identity. Fashion streets, handicraft streets, food streets. Night markets, creative spaces, streets where visitors can walk, shop, eat, watch performances and explore culture on the same journey.
In particular, the night economy is also a very large "vacant space". Tourists staying in the city after 10 pm without a place to shop and have fun, the opportunity to spend is also lost.
Trust is also an asset, clearly listing prices, selling at the right price, goods of origin, convenient payment, transparent exchange and return policies, and quick tax refunds. Small things that seem small determine whether tourists will return or not.
Ho Chi Minh City also needs to boldly bring technology into the business system. Each local product may have a traceability code, brand story, user manual, and purchase address when tourists return home. Thus, the shopping trip does not end at the airport but can continue afterwards.
Raising the above issues to see, don't see ranking 16/50 as a medal hanging up to be proud, but it must become an urging. Ho Chi Minh City must become a place for tourists to shop and be willing to tell others interesting stories they have experienced.
