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Ho Chi Minh City’s top 100 list not so interesting

Ho Chi Minh City’s top 100 list not so interesting

Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 16:14 GMT+7

The Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism has recently announced a 20-catefory list featuring 100 interesting facts about Vietnam’s most populous city. However, to many, the list is too long and boring.

The “HCMC – 100 Interesting Facts” list which is the result of a poll launched by the department includes typical landmarks like museums, historical and cultural sites, traditional markets, nightlife and entertainment venues, food, special cultural, sports and tourism events, shopping places, and typical souvenirs...

However, to many people, many “interesting” things that were listed are not so interesting.

Water puppet shows not included

The 100 interesting facts include five typical convention centers and five typical transportation operators, which organizers call an improvement compared with a similar list launched by the department in 2010. The two categories have raised objections from those who say they don’t find transportation means and convention venues interesting.

“Tourists will not care about the places people hold meetings,” said Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former Deputy Head of the National Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and former Vietnamese Ambassador to the EU.

Huynh Minh Son, CEO of local APEC tourism company told Phap Luat Newspaper that listing transportation operators is not necessary since international tourists coming to Vietnam have their own tour operators who will take care of their travel.

Nguyen Viet Anh, head of a travel management section from the city’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism disagreed.

“Tourists coming to the city need taxis to travel while unlicensed cabs in Vietnam are really causing a mess. That’s why we bring typical transportation operators into the list,” he explained.

The list consists of “five typical luxury hotels”, on top of “five luxury hotels for businessmen”. The two categories are roughly the same.

Meanwhile, some opinions expressed that the list lacks cultural values as well as services which tourists really need.

According to Huynh Minh Son, there are many listed places where local tour agencies rarely take their customers to.

“For example, in the category of night entertainment, there’s little likelihood that foreign tourists visiting HCMC would come to cinemas [Megastar cinema chain is in the list]. 90% of Japanese tourists coming here via our company like to watch Vietnamese water puppet shows which were not listed,” he stated.

Ton Nu Thi Ninh also agreed “The poll’s organizers should have listened to people’s opinions and eliminated unnecessary things”.

“I think we should list five typical charity foundations or five typical galleries. Many tourists coming to Vietnam buy paintings as well as do charity,” she added.

100 interesting facts or PR trick?

After two months, the organizers received 35,000 votes from local residents and tourists visiting the city through surveys handed out at malls, entertainment places around the city and via the website www.saigon100dieuthuvi.vn.

However, the fact that local tourism and service enterprises can nominate themselves to the list has raised doubts that the poll was a golden opportunity for PR.

“The list does not impress me… I agree with many people saying the poll is a way for enterprises to polish their reputation”, historian Nguyen Nha told Phap Luat.

According to Nguyen Thi Hong, deputy chairperson of the city People’s Committee, the poll aims to introduce the city’s unique tourism products that bear cultural values to domestic and international tourists, as well as to encourage local tourism enterprises to improve their products.

Too long

Some people wonder how the authorities could promote the list to tourists.

Director of a local travel agency said that 100 is big number and hard for tourists to remember. “I don’t need 100 interesting things, if I were a tourist, I would like to know where to go, what to eat and buy. That’s enough. There’s no need to go for 100,” he added.

In response, the cultural department informed that it will produce brochures, leaflets and video clips about the list’s 100 facts and send them to local travel agencies to hand over to their customers, as well as to foreign consulates in HCMC.

They also plan to make a short film on the ‘100 Interesting Facts’ and show it on Vietnam Airlines flights.

Tuoitrenews lists 20 among 100 facts in the “HCMC – 100 Interesting Facts”:

- Five typical museums: War Remnants Museum, History Museum of HCMC, Ho Chi Minh Museum – HCMC branch, HCMCM Museum, HCMC Fine Arts Museum.

- Five typical architecture works: Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral, Saigon Central Post Office, HCMC Opera House, Giac Lam Pagoda, Ha Thuong Lan Ong Street.

- Five convention centers: White Palace, Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, Phu Tho Sports Stadium, Van Thanh Tourism Site, Tan Binh Exhibition & Convention Center.

- Five typical road transportation operators: Mai Linh Taxi, Vinasun Taxi, Phuong Trang travel agency, Vietravel tour operator, Hoa Binh tourism company.  

Tuoitrenews

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