The city received nearly 5 million foreign and nearly 35 million domestic tourists, and got a total revenue of over VND160 trillion (US$6.6 billion), the municipal Tourism Department announced on December 28.
The department’s Deputy Director Le Truong Hien Hoa attributed the results to the efficiency of the city’s policy to solve difficulties and boost tourism recovery and development.
Notably, the city won “Asia's Leading Business Travel Destination” and “Asia's Leading Festival & Event Destination” awards at the 2023 World Travel Awards.
In the year, the city has announced nearly 50 tourism projects, with 20 new ones for medium- and high-class segments.
The highlight of the year is the first HCMC River Festival. The three-day event contributed to preserving and promoting the city’s culture and history and making use of its waterways to boost the economy and tourism, in order to build its brand as a culturally rich riverside urban area.
The city's tourism industry has proactively boosted digital transformation and participated in the fourth Industrial Revolution, with a goal of forming a smart tourism ecosystem that connects tourists, service providers, and state management agencies. Notably, the city held a tourism digital transformation day with 13 localities in the Mekong Delta region.
In addition, the sector has proactively implemented 13 tourism promotion programs in Germany, Australia, Portugal, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, the US, Singapore, Mexico, Argentina, Japan, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Hoa shared that the city will carry out a lot of activities on the occasion of the New Year and Lunar New Year (Tet) holidays to serve local people and visitors.
Notably, the headquarters of the municipal People's Committee and People's Council will be open to visitors on December 30 - 31, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:40 p.m.
Countdown programmes and firework displays will be organised in various places, together with a Vietnamese Tet festival from January 18-21, 2024, and Nguyen Hue Flower Street.
On the New Year holidays, the city also plans to organize a marathon race, a martial arts festival, and a bicycle racing tournament.
