Foreign tourists pose for photos at the Central Post Office in HCM City. —VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City tourism authorities have collaborated with travel companies to develop a number of new tours and routes to enhance visitors’ experiences and diversify tourism products.

Revealing this, its Department of Tourism said many waterway tours would be launched by year-end, including from Bạch Đằng Wharf to District 7, the Bình Điền wholesale market and Hội Sơn temple.

TSTtourist will launch a new inner-city tour that gives tourists the opportunity to explore the four districts of Gò Vấp, 12, Hóc Môn, and Củ Chi.

As part of efforts to diversify products, district tourism authorities work with businesses to develop at least one new product in each district.

Trần Quang Duy, CEO of Chim Cánh Cụt Travel Service JSC, said his company has developed a number of inner-city tours to exploit the historical relics and tourist attractions in districts of Nhà Bè, Bình Chánh, 8, 10, and 11.

Trần Thị Bảo Thu, director of marketing and communication at Vietluxtour, said her company is seeking to develop tours of historical relics and cultural heritage sites and luxury medical-culinary tours.

Bùi Thị Ngọc Hiếu, deputy director of the department, said her department has organised attractive events such as night flights, cultural and sports activities and tourism promotion in Singapore.

It has worked with the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Cần Thơ to organise the Trade and Tourism Week in Cần Thơ at the end of the year, she said.

 “We target international visitors, especially those coming to avoid cold weather in their country and overseas Vietnamese returning home for year-end celebrations.”

The department is drafting preferential policies aimed at attracting international MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) tourists, she added.

In the first 10 months of the year the city received 4.6 million foreign visitors, a year-on-year increase of 12.9 per cent.

Tourism revenues were worth VNĐ156.6 trillion (US$6.16 billion). —VNS