Infrastructure, products and markets are heavily invested, opening up hopes for breakthroughs for 2026.
New experience drop points
After expanding its borders and merging with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City is entering the stage of rebuilding the development space, in which tourism has become one of the fields of strong movement.
The expanded creative urban space has formed a new tourism map, diverse in landscapes, rich in resources and with more exploitation potential than ever before. This shift not only changes the urban structure, but also opens up new competitive advantages for Ho Chi Minh City, especially in the journey to build the image of a dynamic, experiential and regionally significant destination.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Minh Man - Deputy General Director of VinaGroup Tourism Company - said that the biggest attraction of the expanded creative urban space lies in 2 strategic changes.
First, Ho Chi Minh City from a single-core urban area has transformed into a multi-center megacity, creating many new experience drop-off points such as financial - creative centers, industrial - open-city centers, or sea - resort - eco-tourism centers. The city is no longer just confined to streets, history, cuisine, but also has nearby sea, strong industry and a rich river - forest ecosystem.
Second, tourism resources are expanded in both depth and breadth, allowing travel businesses to design continuous products in a unified administrative space.
No city in Vietnam has the advantage of multi-structure - multi-landscape - multi-dynamic development like Ho Chi Minh City after the merger. The attraction of the new creative city lies in its unprecedented diversity, allowing visitors to feel the dynamism - innovation - continuity of a Southeast Asian-level supercity" - Mr. Man emphasized.
After the merger, not only the development space has been expanded, but the resurgence of the Ho Chi Minh City tourism market has also become clearer. Domestic and international visitors and tourism revenue have all recorded positive growth trends.
Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu - Marketing - Communications Director of Vietluxtour Company - said that the Ho Chi Minh City tourism market at the end of 2025 and entering the 2026 New Year is recovering well, with an estimated growth rate of 15-20% compared to the same period. With its leading position in economy - culture and the largest aviation network in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City has enough conditions to become the urban tourism capital of Southeast Asia in the period 2026 - 2030.
From the perspective of State management, Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism - said that the city currently possesses 681 tourism resources that are qualified to form diverse destinations, from vibrant urban spaces, traditional craft villages, modern industrial parks, to poetic riverside areas and charming islands.
Inside the city, architectural heritage systems, museums, traditional markets, street food spaces and unique festivals continue to create a unique identity of Ho Chi Minh City tourism. This is an important foundation for the city's tourism industry to develop strongly, towards diversifying products and experiences.
Notably, the tourism map after the merger is no longer limited to familiar landmarks such as Notre Dame Cathedral, Independence Palace or Ben Thanh market, but expands to potential destinations such as Vung Tau beach, Long Hai, Dinh mountain (Ba Ria - Vung Tau before) or Binh Duong pottery villages (before). This richness brings tourists many choices, from sea resorts, nature exploration to cultural and historical understanding.
Towards the position of leading tourist center in the region
In the context of tourism development potential constantly being expanded, travel businesses expect urban innovation projects to become a strong driving force for the market from 2026.
Mr. Man believes that the completion of multimodal connectivity infrastructure will be a key factor to help tourism accelerate, especially when ring roads, expressways, metro lines and river - road - sea connectivity networks are operated effectively. When travel time between Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau (formerly) is reduced to about 60-70 minutes, inter-regional tourism products will explode.
Along with infrastructure, businesses also expect regional-level tourism service centers to soon form, from high-quality river wharves for receiving/returning guests, new conference and exhibition centers to night economic spaces, food streets, and pedestrian streets suitable for expanded urban structures.
Mr. Man also expects the city to issue a special mechanism for the development of creative tourism, night tourism - night economy and attract investment in products with Ho Chi Minh City's own imprint. If the projects are implemented according to the roadmap, 2026 will be a time of acceleration for the industry.
From a strategic perspective, Ms. Thu expects that in 2026, Ho Chi Minh City will focus on 3 major orientations including strong development of urban tourism, culture and events; upgrading river tourism and night tourism products; strengthening infrastructure investment, expanding air routes and diversifying products by segment.
With the joint efforts of travel businesses, management agencies and the city's methodical investment in urban - event - night - river tourism, Ho Chi Minh City can completely become a symbolic destination of the region" - Ms. Thu assessed.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the city is positioned to become the leading tourist center in Southeast Asia by 2030, a high-class, attractive tourist destination, a place that not only attracts tourists but also creates inspiration and motivation for innovation for Vietnam's tourism industry.
