Tourists at the HCM City Museum of Fine Arts. Photo nld.com.vn

HCM CITY – HCM City plans to launch a series of new tourism products to stimulate demand during the New Year and Tết (Lunar New Year).

‘Saigon past and present’ organised by Fiditour- Vietluxtour Travel Company will take visitors on an exploration tour of the beauty of Saigon's 300-year-old culture and history as it evolved from Saigon Gia Định - Pearl of the Far East to today’s HCM City.

Visitors will see museums and historical sites to learn about the cultural and historical imprints and modern landmarks such as Bitexco Tower, Saigon Skydeck, Nguyễn Huệ Walking Street, the city People's Committee building, and HCM City Theater.

Nguyễn Thị Ánh Hoa, director of the city Department of Tourism, said to create new tourism products for the year-end holiday period upto Tết, the department surveyed many monuments, scenic spots and other attractive destinations.

Besides city tours, HCM City and the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces will also promote tourism programmes and linkages between one another.

Hoa said Long An Province has a range of tourism products, while HCM City is popular for urban tourism with activities such as shopping, entertainment, healthcare, and others.

Phan Tấn Hòa, deputy chairman of the Long An People’s Committee, said the province would set up travel co-operation programmes with other delta provinces and HCM City.

Travel firms in HCM City said they would offer customised tours to Long An such as weekend getaways to eco-tourism and river tourism destinations.

The city also plans to link up with Bến Tre Province.

Tourism attractions in Bến Tre, which has a 65km coastline, include fruit orchards, rowboats, horse-drawn carriage rides, and Đờn Ca Tài Tử (southern folk music).

The province has contained the pandemic and most of its socio-economic activities have returned to normal.

Bến Tre Province should focus on local resources and develop coconut products, upgrade infrastructure, improve the quality of its tourism services, and support tourism firms, Hoa of HCM City said.

HCM City has taken a number of measures to foster tourism co-operation with delta provinces, she added. – VNS