Saigon plans fireworks, monthly events to boost tourism

By VnExpress   April 14, 2017 | 12:14 am PT
Saigon plans fireworks, monthly events to boost tourism
Fireworks in Ho Chi Minh City to mark the Reunification Day in 2016. Photo by VnExpress
Mark your calendar: April 30 in HCMC for firework displays and light art show on Saigon River.

Ho Chi Minh City authorities have approved a plan to pack the town's all year round calendar with festive activities nearly each month to attract more visitors and establish a tourism brand for Vietnam's southern metropolis.

The series of monthly festive events will start with a firework display, in addition to a light art show on Saigon River, to mark Vietnam's Reunification Day on April 30, said Tran Vinh Tuyen, deputy chairman of the municipal People's Committee.

The long list of events, part of a project put forward by the city tourism department, will also include a food festival at the end of May, street arts and southern fruits festival the following month, an international tourism fair between July and September among other fashion, tourism and culinary events until the rest of the year.

The city government is determined to turn tourism into a key sector that spearheads its development. Tuyen has earlier said the city's tourism industry had wasted much of its potential as it lacked a clear strategic development plan. 

Ho Chi Minh City is planning to launch a number of international-level tourism products in the coming time, which are expected to diversify its tourism services to attract both local and long-haul travelers, and boost international reputation.

Last year it planned to engage private investors to develop a floating market along its tangled inner waterway system to attract travelers.

Dinh La Thang, the city's Communist Party chief, has mooted the idea of asking businesses to sponsor fireworks and light art shows on weekends and holidays.

The city attracted 5.2 million foreign tourists in 2016, up 10 percent from the previous year.

Last year, it stood among the world's 20 fastest growing tourist cities, with a 9.22 percent annual growth since 2009, according to a survey by MasterCard.

 
 
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