Visitors at the Museum of HCM City. VNS Photo Thu Hằng

HCM CITY — HCM City will step up tourism links with the five south-eastern provinces of Bà Rịa- Vũng Tàu, Tây Ninh, Bình Dương, Bình Phước and Đồng Nai to enable travel firms to develop more products and expand their markets, a city leader has said.

Trần Vĩnh Tuyến, deputy chairman of the city People’s Committee, said co-ordinated efforts by the city and neighbouring provinces would help foster inter-regional tourism to boost the domestic travel market of 100 million people.

Local authorities would offer incentives to travel firms to develop new products and improve their services, he said while speaking at an online meeting this week.

“Co-operation for development of domestic travel is the most effective way to revive the badly hit tourism industry post-COVID-19.”

HCM City signed a comprehensive agreement for tourism development with 13 cities and provinces in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta late last year.

A number of new inter-regional tourism products have been launched under it. 

A conference on inter-regional tourism linkages in the south-eastern region is slated to be held in Tây Ninh Province on June 28.

The conference is expected to attract 200 firms and investors in tourism and services, and an agreement for tourism development between HCM City and the five south-eastern provinces is expected to be signed. — VNS