Visitors board a boat to visit islands in HCM City’s Cần Giờ District. VNS Photo Thu Hằng

HCM CITY — HCM City will organise a series of tourism, cultural and sports events this year as part of efforts to revive its tourism sector, which has been badly disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a plan released by its People’s Committee.

The 16th annual HCM City Travel Fair will be held along with the annual food fair in August to boost domestic travel and strengthen travel linkages with other destinations in the country.

The Áo Dài (Vietnamese traditional dress) Festival is scheduled to take place at the beginning of October to promote the country’s traditional culture and tourism.

The event, which is organised annually in March, was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The 4th HCM City International Marathon is slated for December.

The city's Department of Tourism and Tourism Association has kicked off a domestic travel stimulus programme since early this month.

Travel agencies, airlines, railways, hotels, restaurants, and tourist service providers will offer discounts on travel packages and tourism services.

It has attracted 24 travel agencies and six hotels, according to the city's Department of Tourism.

More than 70 tours with discounts will be introduced at a conference to be held to unveil the programme.

Võ Thị Ngọc Thúy, deputy director of the department, said the programme aims to attract people to travel to HCM City and other destinations around the country.

It is part of efforts to help travel and tourism businesses survive these challenging times, she said.

Saigontourist Group offers promotions with discounts of nearly 50 per cent on accommodation, travel, food, entertainment, and training services from June to September.

Phạm Huy Bình, chairman of the group’s board of members, said the company’s promotion programme is in response to the national stimulus campaign launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and HCM City’s stimulus programme.

In May not one foreign tourist came to HCM City, according to the department. — VNS