Minister calls for night entertainment complexes for foreign tourists in 12 localities

At a question-and-answer session at the National Assembly on Wednesday, he said the complexes would include pedestrian streets, night markets and luxury amusement services targeted high-spending tourists staying in the country for long.

Vietnam lacks entertainment activities for international visitors, especially night-time experiences, due to lack of incentive policies, he said.

The 2018 Vietnam Tourism Summit had heard that foreign visitors spend nine days on average in both Vietnam and Thailand, but spend US$163 a day in the latter and only $96 in the former.

In recent years Hanoi, HCMC, Hue, and Da Nang have made efforts to boost their nighttime economy by organizing street art performances and setting up pedestrians-only streets and food courts.

But tourism insiders have said nighttime experiences in Vietnam's major cities offer nothing new compared to other countries in the region.

Vietnam targets 18 million foreign tourists this year, and has received 7.6 million so far.