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HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Tourism on Tuesday kicked off its annual tourism stimulus programme that will run throughout the year as part of its attempt to revive the hard-hit tourism industry.

Nearly 260 tour packages are being offered with 280,000 discounted vouchers of 10-70 per cent.

Tour packages featuring popular tourist attractions in HCM City have been designed with new services to attract locals.

A one-day tour to Thạnh An Island in the city’s Cần Giờ District, for example, is only VNĐ99,000 (US$4) per person and a one-day HCM City tour VNĐ135,000 ($6) per person.

Twenty tourist and entertainment sites offer discounts of 20-50 per cent on entrance tickets.

A total of 40 accommodation facilities in the city have reduced room rate by 22-68 per cent besides free airport pickup and drop off services, and spa and laundry services.

Airlines, railway and road transport providers in the programme are also offering a variety of promotions and discounts.

The programme features attractive discounts on tour packages from HCM City to other cities and provinces.

Coordinated efforts of tourism authorities in HCM City and neighbouring provinces will help to create inter-regional tourism products and promotion activities, said Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, director of the department.

The HCM City Department of Tourism kicks off its annual tourism stimulus programme that will run throughout the year as part of its attempt to revive the hard-hit tourism industry. — VNS Photo Thu Hằng

This year, the programme will promote travel linkages between the city and localities. A large number of tourists are expected to travel to other localities from HCM City, Vũ said.  

Miss Vietnam 2018 Trần Tiểu Vy and model and travel blogger Trần Quang Đại are ambassadors for this year’s programme which has its website at www.kichcaudulichtphcm.vn 

Last month, the number of foreign tourist arrivals to HCM City was zero, according to a report of the city’s Department of Tourism.

In the first five months of the year, the city welcomed more than 1.3 million international tourist arrivals, down 63 per cent year-on-year.

Nguyễn Trùng Khánh, head of the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism, said domestic travel is the priority at this time as all international flights are still closed.

The number of domestic tourists is expected to reach no more than 60-65 million this year or two-thirds of this year’s target, Khánh said at a meeting held on Monday in HCM City.

If foreign tourists are allowed to enter the country next month, the number of foreign tourist arrivals might reach 6-8 million for the year.

The number might be an estimated 4-4.5 million if the tourism sector reopens to foreign tourists in the fourth quarter, he said. 

The Tourism Administration has suggested extending upcoming national holiday breaks to boost domestic travel, he said.

The Independence Day holiday on September 2, for example, could be extended to five days instead of only one day, he added. — VNS