Regional linkage, enhancing tourist experience
After expanding its administrative boundaries, Ho Chi Minh City enters a new stage of development with expanded tourism space. Not only is it a transit point, the city is facing the opportunity to become a destination with a diverse product ecosystem, connecting from urban to sea, from culture to resort. However, to take advantage of this advantage, the problem is how to link effectively and build products that can retain tourists.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh - Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association - said that tourism is a general economic sector, so to develop sustainably, it is mandatory to link. Only when linking can strengthen and diversify products, not only within the industry but also in other fields.
The linkage will help localities build their own unique products, and at the same time connect them into a complete experience chain. After the process of expanding the space, Ho Chi Minh City has more conditions to diversify tourism products. The issue is that the city's tourism industry needs to know how to connect these conditions into a product chain that can retain tourists.
Previously, the length of stay of tourists in Ho Chi Minh City was not as long as expected. Currently, with the expansion and regional linkage, the goal is to take advantage of surrounding destinations to extend the journey and increase the length of stay of tourists.
Ms. Khanh emphasized that with the advantage of human resources, Ho Chi Minh City has the ability to implement policies quickly and effectively. Currently, tourism activities and events are organized diversely, practically and serving both the community and tourists. In the long term, the development of diverse products is still an important factor, in which, combining resorts with strong types such as medical tourism, sports, shopping will contribute to extending stay time and increasing tourist spending.
Currently, tourism businesses are also proactively innovating products, from short-day inner-city tours to regional linkage tours, meeting the increasingly diverse needs of the market.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Man - Deputy General Director of VinaGroup Tourism Company said that the Ho Chi Minh City sightseeing tour from above by helicopter will resume operation from March 2026. After cooperation agreements with travel businesses and the companionship of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, businesses are continuing to look for suitable locations to expand take-off and landing points right in the city center area.
According to Mr. Man, this product has received great attention from tourists and will be one of the next steps in the city's strategy to build a high-class tourism product chain. In the coming time, the business is oriented to combine helicopter experiences with yachts, golf and other high-class services to form a high-quality tourism ecosystem, contributing to optimizing visitor flows and enhancing the value of experience.
Meanwhile, Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang - Deputy General Director of Vietravel Travel Company said that the business has built many products in Ho Chi Minh City. Tours are designed flexibly from 1 to 3 days, combining the city center with destinations such as Vung Tau, Can Gio to diversify experiences for tourists during the peak summer season.
Diversifying tourism products
From day to night, Ho Chi Minh City tourism is gradually forming a continuous experience chain, contributing to increasing the experience of tourists. In which, night tourism in Ho Chi Minh City is gradually becoming a highlight with many rich products. From Saigon River yachts, 2-story buses, visiting the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens at night to Cu Chi Tunnels exploration tours, products all record positive visitor numbers. Spaces such as Nguyen Hue pedestrian street or culinary streets are also always bustling. After the merger, the space for night tourism development of Ho Chi Minh City continues to expand, opening up many opportunities to form new products.
Mr. An Son Lam - Director of Dong Duong Sailing Co., Ltd. - said that the key factor is to build products suitable for market demand, especially in the night food segment. River tourism has developed strongly in recent times, with many high-quality yachts put into operation, contributing to raising the city's tourism image.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance, after arrangement, Ho Chi Minh City has a natural area of 6,772.59km2, a population size of 14,002,598 people, located in a prime location, the center of the ASEAN region, the gateway to international exchange. The merger with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau opens up a large-scale urban - industrial - tourism - sea linkage space, creating favorable conditions for restructuring the growth model in the direction of more effectively exploiting the time factor, in which the night economy is an important component.
Mr. Pham Huy Binh - Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism - said that with the expansion of administrative boundaries, Ho Chi Minh City currently owns very large tourism resources and potential. Previously, the city mainly played the role of a transit point, welcoming guests and then connecting to other localities. However, currently, Ho Chi Minh City can develop diverse types, almost "everything is available" in the tourism ecosystem.
According to Mr. Binh, to develop the night economy, first of all, it is necessary to develop the daytime economy well. During the day, tourists come to visit, learn, and explore; thereby, forming a need for evening experiences. On that basis, Ho Chi Minh City is gradually raising the level of tourism products, from MICE tourism, resort tourism, medical tourism to cultural and culinary tourism... to meet the increasing needs of tourists. The city currently has many unique products and continues to develop further.
Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry also implements many long-term solutions to develop Vietnamese tourism in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular. Along with that, the city promotes and promotes destinations and strengthens regional links, thereby helping tourists better understand the diversity and attractiveness of Ho Chi Minh City.
The city's tourism industry identifies the motto "keeping and opening tourist wallets". In the first quarter of 2026, Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry recorded positive growth in both visitor volume and revenue, showing initial results in keeping tourists.
