After traveling to Ho Chi Minh City for about a week, Mr. James - a tourist from the US - said that he was very satisfied with the trip because of the vibrant pace of life, friendly people and reasonable costs.
Many people like Vietnam, they come here because they really love this place. For me at this time, Vietnam, especially Ho Chi Minh City, is an ideal tourist destination. I think I will probably return to Ho Chi Minh City when I retire, because the people here are wonderful and the atmosphere is very pleasant" - Mr. James shared.
Not only Mr. James, many international tourists also expressed a positive impression of Ho Chi Minh City - an open city, easy to integrate and leave a sense of wanting to return, even staying for a long time.
According to the City Pulse 2025 report by the Gensler Research Institute, Ho Chi Minh City ranks 2nd out of 65 cities globally in terms of the ability to "keep" residents. This is a testament to the increasingly clear attraction of Ho Chi Minh City not only to domestic people but also to the international community.
Mr. Nguyen Khoa Luan - Director of Viet Hop on - Hop off Vietnam Tourism Company - commented that Ho Chi Minh City has long gathered all the elements of a dynamic city: Quality living environment, reasonable costs and high integration. This is truly a place where birds nest in good land. Foreigners coming to Ho Chi Minh City can easily feel respect from the community, can quickly integrate and find a suitable job, while their standard of living is affordable. Moreover, Ho Chi Minh City has long been a destination for people across the country, contributing to creating a diverse, open and integrated identity - factors that are increasingly spreading internationally.
If the immigration policy is adjusted to be more open, Ho Chi Minh City can completely become a regional-level urban area, strongly attracting people, cash flow and investment flows to develop tourism, Mr. Luan emphasized.
Not only scoring points in the eyes of tourists and foreigners, Ho Chi Minh City is also gradually repositioning its image on the international tourism map. If previously, Ho Chi Minh City was considered a transit point in the journey to explore Vietnam, the high position in this ranking is a recognition of Ho Chi Minh City's strong efforts to transform in recent times.
Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism - said that Ho Chi Minh City ranked 2nd in the City Pulse 2025 survey and surpassed many developed cities such as Singapore, Sydney or Berlin, which is an appreciated signal. More important than the ranking, this result shows that Ho Chi Minh City is not only a place to work or travel, but has become a place worth sticking to, living in and long-term inspiration for residents.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City proactively re-positioned the image of the destination, shifting the focus of tourism development to values associated with indigenous urban life, contemporary culture and real experience.
In recent years, many solutions have been implemented to improve the tourist experience such as forming a walking street, unique culinary space, products associated with heritage and indigenous culture; promoting the application of digital technology such as e-tourism maps; organizing regional events such as Ho Do International Music Festival, Rivers Festival...
The city also focuses on developing night tourism, at the same time, coordinating with departments and branches to host many large-scale cultural, sports and educational events. Thereby, contributing to positioning Ho Chi Minh City not only as a place to go to, but also a place to return, stay and stay long-term" - Mr. Hoa said.
