HCMC to hold firework displays to ring in New Year

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s southern economic hub, will organize two firework shows and a series of countdown parties on December 31 to ring in the upcoming New Year.

A high-altitude firework display is scheduled to be set off at Saigon River Tunnel in downtown area, while a low-range firework show is slated to take place at Dam Sen Cultural Park in District 11.

Each firework display will last for 15 minutes on New Year’s Eve.

Countdown parties will be launched on Nguyen Hue pedestrian street, one of the city’s busiest entertainment hubs, from 8 p.m. on December 31.

From December 23 to January 1, city authorities will hold various activities to welcome the New Year, including the inauguration of the Sunflower Park, paragliding and hot air balloon rides, food festivals and art performances.

Visitors can take a canoe service to enjoy fireworks at Tan Cang tourist area with a ticket price of VND499,000 ($20.5) per person.

This year, there will be a three-day break for New Year holiday in Vietnam. While the official day off for New Year is on January 1 in accordance with the Labor Code, as it would be a Monday, combining it with the weekend would make it a three-day holiday.

Online travel platform Agoda ranked HCMC third in a list of the 10 best global destinations to celebrate New Year after Singapore and Bali.

“Revel in the festive atmosphere with fireworks over the Saigon River and vibrant nightlife in District 1,” Agoda wrote.

To compile the list, Agoda uses ChatGPT 4.0 to identify the list of travel destinations, and to create the first draft of this release and Midjourney AI was used to generate an image depicting multiple scenic New Years’ Eve destinations from around the world.

HCMC expects to welcome five million international tourists this year, a 44.3% increase year-on-year, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.

As of October, the city had welcomed more than 4.1 million foreign visitors, accounting for 82% of this year’s target.

U.S. travel magazine Travel off Path recently named Vietnam in a list of the 10 most ideal Asian destinations to celebrate the upcoming New Year holiday.

Vietnam ranked second on the list after Thailand based on booking data for Christmas and New Year's Eve holiday on the Singaporean online travel platform 12Go.