HCMC – Cultural and historical sites in HCMC are experiencing a surge in visitors ahead of the April 30 holiday, with the city’s museums alone having attracted more than 200,000 guests over the past month.
Nguyen Tan Kiet, head of the Arts Division at the HCMC Department of Culture and Sports, said that from March 15 to April 15, museums under the department’s management welcomed over 200,000 visitors.
During the upcoming April 30 and May 1 holiday, visitor numbers are expected to increase by another 100,000.
The Cu Chi Tunnels remain one of the most popular tourist destinations. In the year to April 15, the site had welcomed over 521,000 visitors, with nearly 195,000 of them domestic tourists, up 26%, and more than 325,000 international visitors, up 20% year-on-year.
Numerous cultural and historical tours have been launched by travel companies to serve tourists and delegates from the nation’s 63 provinces and centrally governed cities. The most popular tours include visits to the Cu Chi Tunnels, the Independence Palace, and sites linked to the Saigon Special Forces.
Media coverage and activities marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the south and the reunification of the nation are helping to accelerate HCMC’s tourism activities.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, head of Tourism Resource Planning and Development at the HCMC Department of Tourism, the city’s tourism sector is preparing a series of events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of HCMC’s development since reunification.
The department plans to focus on developing tourism products tied to cultural and historical themes, while also introducing new tours, such as community-based tourism in Thanh An Island Commune (Can Gio District), the “Southern Six Provinces” heritage tour, and the “Pride of the Borderlands” tour linking HCMC with border provinces adjacent to Laos and Cambodia.
