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HCM City needs proper innovation and investments to harness the potential of waterway tourism, experts said. – Photo HCM City's Department of Tourism

HCM CITY – Proper planning and investments are necessary to tap HCM City’s water tourism potential, local officials and tour operators have said.

The city has a number of advantages such as the centrally located Bạch Đằng Wharf and the Nhiêu Lộc Thị Nghè Canal that passes through the centre, Phan Xuân Anh, general director of Du Ngoạn Việt (Việt Excursions) Ltd, said.

“The city’s rivers are also a way for tourists to travel to Mekong Delta provinces and neighbouring countries like Thailand and Cambodia.”

The director of the HCM City’s Department of Tourism, Nguyễn Thị Ánh Hoa, said improving river tourism would enable tourists to sightsee and understand more about Vietnamese culture, history, and eco-systems.

Anh said this has been precluded by the lack of a proper and synchronised structure, making it hard for water tourism to compete with other modes.

Trần Phương Linh, marketing and information technology director at Bến Thành Tourist Service Corporation, said travel agencies have been struggling to get customers for water tours.

“Besides, polluted rivers are a concern for this form of travel.”

Travel companies said facilities and entertainment activities along rivers are not as good as those in France or China, and strategic planning and renovation are critical to making river tours more attractive.

Nguyễn Trần Hoàng Phương, acting head of the Institute of Social Tourism Research, said river tours require diverse experiences but operators only provide short tours and dining experiences on ships, which were hardly sufficient.

Hoa said at the end of this year a River Festival will be organised by the city's tourism authority to develop waterway tourism.

“We also have been working with travel companies to create overnight river tours and developing water sports activities in Cần Giờ District, and there will be more products available in future.” – VNS