Many international visitors are spending their leisure time in Ho Chi Minh City during the ongoing four-day public holiday, when Vietnamese people are celebrating the National Day (September 2).

Lieu Thi My Hanh, sales manager of Les Rives Company, which provides tours for international visitors to Vietnam, said that her company launched several boat trips to take five international tourist groups to famous destinations in Ho Chi Minh City such as Cu Chi and Can Gio Districts and adjacent provinces like Long An and Ben Tre by waterway on Friday.

The tourists were mainly business people who come to the southern Vietnamese city for meetings and short trips, in addition to expats living and working in Vietnam and some overseas Vietnamese.

Les Rives plans to serve a total of about 200 international visitors during this holiday, a notable number compared to the firm’s monthly figure of 300-500 guests.

International visitors shop at Ben Thanh Market in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, September 2, 2022. Photo: N. Binh / Tuoi Tre

“Our visitors come from Europe, the U.S. and Australia and would spend an average stay of about five nights,” Hanh said.

“So far, the number of international visitors has recovered slightly,” she said, adding that the company is expecting November will be the peak time with more international tourists and the number would double by next February.

The highest growth can be achieved starting March 2023 when international yachts is expected to start calling on Vietnam again, according to the manager.

An Australian visitor introduced himself as Alex said that a friend who is working in Vietnam advised him to come to Ho Chi Minh City on September 2 to experience the festivals and holiday activities of the city. 

Alex has visited attractions such as the Reunification Palace and Cu Chi Tunnels and will go to the Mekong Delta region in the next few days.

International visitors tour Ho Chi Minh City by boat, September 2, 2022. Photo: Hai Kim / Tuoi Tre

Ho Chi Minh City welcomed 671,198 international visitors in August and more than 1.38 million in the first eight months of this year, according to the municipal statistics office.

The total revenue of tourism and services in the city in the first eight months was estimated at VND74.5 trillion (US$3.17 billion), up 90.6 percent over the same period last year.

The city aims to receive 3.5 million international visitors this year.

Aside from international visitors, many domestic tourists also chose to spend their break in the city.

The municipal tourism administration has carried out multiple plans to recover the city tourism sector after the coronavirus surge last year, according to Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa - director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism. 

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