Shopping tourism will attract visitors coming to the city as well as help tourist enterprises bring travelers to HCMC, she added.
The city has the potential to become a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) tourism center in the region. The local government will concentrate to the development of waterway- health – culture- leisure tourism.
In order to launch an attractive tourist products, the departments of Industry and Trade, and Tourism along with the Tax Department should closely cooperate to offer fashion products at promotional prices which couldn't have competed with others of ASEAN member nations over the past years, a director of a travel agent said.
The two departments have strongly strengthened a comprehensive cooperation to provide shopping tours and speeded up promotional programs at markets and shopping centers in 2021 and plan to open more duty-free stores, said Director of Industry and Trade, Bui Ta Hoang Vu.
Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, president of Imex Pan Pacific Group (IPPG) said that consumers will have a chance to buy luxury fashion items at reasonable prices in coming time. Before the EVFT (EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement) took effect, tariffs on imported fashion products from Europe were 30 percent, excluding VAT. This is not attracting shoppers to city.
Shopping tourism has been developed sharply in South Korea, Dubai, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong (China). Tourist shoppers spend a lot on their purchases. The tourism industry of Vietnam and HCMC particularly should focus on this type of tourism, contributing to the promotion of country’s destinations and creating jobs for local people.
