The HCM City Department of Tourism on November 4 held a conference on tourism development between HCM City and the Northwest, Northeast, and Central areas. Photo courtesy of ttbc-hcm.gov.vn

HCM CITY — The tourism and information authorities of HCM City are seeking to boost tourism programmes between the city and the  Northwest, Northeast and Central regions of the country. 

The city's Department of Tourism officials Nguyễn Thị Ánh Hoa and Võ Thị Ngọc Thuý, and the deputy director of the city's Department of Information and Communications, Từ Lương, spoke about the programmes at a press conference recently.

Tourism development programmes between the city and those regions will be discussed at three conferences.

The first conference on HCM City’s tourism connections with eight cities and provinces in the expanded Northwest region, including Điện Biên, Hà Giang, Hoà Bình, Lai Châu, Lào Cai, Sơn La, Yên Bái, and Phú Thọ, will be held on November 14 and 15 in Phú Thọ.

The next conference on HCM City’s relationship with cities and provinces in the Northeast region, namely Bắc Kạn, Bắc Giang, Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn, Thái Nguyên, Tuyên Quang, Vĩnh Phúc, and Quảng Ninh, will take place in Quảng Ninh between November 19 and 20.

The last conference will be organised in Quảng Nam on November 27 and 28, focusing on strengthening tourism linkages between HCM City, Hà Nội and cities and provinces in the Central region, such as Bình Định, Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Thừa Thiên Huế.

At these events, authorities will discuss and sign agreements on regional tourism development between 2020 and 2025. Implementation plans of each programme will be reviewed and approved during these conferences.

According to the director of the HCM City Department of Tourism, Nguyễn Thị Ánh Hoa, it is crucial to carry out the programmes effectively as the city’s tourism sector needs to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Hoa added that since the domestic market is now being identified as the main market for tourism, strengthening regional linkages is one of the key solutions to revive the industry. 

HCM City expects to attract more tourists from Northwest provinces and cities, the Northeast, and key economic regions in the Central area, who will also travel to the Mekong Delta area.

The number of domestic visitors to HCM City is expected to reach 35 million next year, she said.

The city's tourism authority is also seeking to collaborate with the culture and tourism  authorities in multiple provinces to launch online forums for locals to send their feedback on possible plans to develop tourism in the Northweast, Northwest and Central regions. — VNS