Tourists from the northern province of Quảng Ninh sightsee in HCM City on a hop-on hop-off bus tour. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The first group of visitors from the northern province of Quảng Ninh last weekend visited tourist attractions in HCM City as part of the city’s tourism stimulus programme that has recently resumed.

The tourist group went on the Nha Trang- Phan Thiết-HCM City stimulus tour package organised by TST Tourist.

The number of visitors between HCM City and provinces in the northeastern and northwestern reached more than 20,000 due to close tourism linkages, said Nguyễn Thị Ánh Hoa, deputy director of the HCM City’s Department of Tourism.

The city will facilitate tourism linkage programmes with localities in the northeast, northwest, central, southeast and the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta in an effort to boost the domestic market, Hoa said at a party held last weekend to welcome the tourist group.

The city’s tourism sector targets welcoming 15 million domestic visitors this year.

A conference on tourism linkages between HCM City and eight provinces in the northeast is slated to be held from November 19-20 in Quảng Ninh Province.

Tour operators in HCM City have recently sent many tourist groups to northeastern and northwestern provinces, including TST Tourist with 500 guests, Saco Travel with 750 guests, and Vietravel with more than 10,000 guests. —VNS