From internal attraction to the prospect of reaching international level
The series of international events that have just taken place in Ho Chi Minh City, from the Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair (ITE HCMC 2025) to the Global Tourism Promotion Organizing Committee (TPO 2025), have created an important boost, opening up a breakthrough prospect for the city's tourism in the final period of 2025 and 2026. This success continues the internal appeal clearly demonstrated during the September 2 holiday, when Ho Chi Minh City welcomed about 1.45 million visitors to tourist and entertainment areas and the total revenue of the industry is estimated at 4,140 billion VND.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism - emphasized that the success of the event series not only affirms the international position of Ho Chi Minh City, but also the "one-arrow - many-way" strategy, both promoting tourism and creating momentum for economy, trade and innovation. The Ho Chi Minh City tourism industry is confident that it will complete and exceed the targets in 2025, creating a premise for a breakthrough in 2026.
Another important milestone is that Ho Chi Minh City was awarded the TPO Best Awards 2025 Tourism Marketing Award thanks to the campaign "Find your vibes", affirming creative efforts, promotional cooperation and elevating the city's position as a modern, unique destination.
In particular, this year, ITE HCMC was held at the same time as 3 other international events for the first time, creating an "international Economic - Tourism Week", promoting the MICE type, while linking tourism with trade, logistics and exports. Thereby, Vietnam promises to become a gathering place for global leaders, businesses, experts and journalism, both attracting visitors and elevating its international position.
Strengthening regional connectivity to enhance tourist experience
Looking at the upcoming prospects, Mr. Nguyen Khoa Luan - Director of Viet Hop on - Hop off Vietnam Tourism Company - said that Ho Chi Minh City tourism in particular and Vietnam in general are facing strong opportunities for a breakthrough, especially if there are more development support policies. Vietnam is currently among the most chosen destinations for international tourists, possessing rich natural and cultural resources - from the sea, heritage to the ecosystem. This is the "raw material" to build the tourism industry into a spearhead economy.
According to Mr. Luan, it is important to both preserve the environment and improve professionalism in services for sustainable development and at the same time, continue to strongly promote to elevate the position of Vietnam's tourism on the world map.
Regarding the issue of regional linkages, this is also considered one of the key orientations of the tourism industry in the coming period. From a management perspective, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism has determined that in the period of 2026 - 2030, it will focus on strengthening regional linkages to optimize advantages, connect resources and enhance the experience for tourists.
The city aims to take advantage of the strengths of tourism centers as well as opportunities for restructuring the territory to build " memorable experiences" in each locality, while forming a "national tourism ecosystem" with "multi-regional seamless experience".
Key solutions include building a digital map of the tourism network on a big data and artificial intelligence (AI) platform; developing tourism clusters and corridors based on key transport infrastructure, creating an "uninterrupted flow" connecting Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and regions according to the model of "experimental corridor - value artery".
