Night-time economy strategic solution to boost HCMC tourism: official

Ho Chi Minh City authorities have determined that night economy development would be a “strategic solution” to promote the city's tourism industry, said Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, deputy director of the municipal Department of Tourism.

She was speaking at a dialogue between businesses and city authorities organized Wednesday by the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCMC (ITPC) and the HCMC Department of Tourism.

Dao Minh Chanh, deputy director of ITPC, said the event aimed to promptly resolve difficulties and problems that tourism businesses in the city faced; and to collect their recommendations and proposals.

Responding to businesses' comments on developing the night economy, Hieu said that city recognizes that tourism development associated with the night economy was very important.

She said HCMC had the advantage of being ready to promote the development of unique nightlife tourism products and services based on natural landscapes, cultural spaces, history, cuisine, shopping and entertainment.

The HCMC Department of Tourism will guide and focus on promoting the development of night tourism with many measures including promoting the deployment of applications and utilities to support tourists, prioritizing the deployment of technology applications for online payments, and using automation technology in providing services.

At the same time, the department will organize “unique” programs to diversify products and services, improve service quality in the night-economy, she added.

The department will also support travel businesses in coordinating with destinations and tourism service providers to build and organize thematic programs to serve tourists at night.

In particular, it will promote three night tourism programs: District 1 - Colors of the Night; War Zone Moon: Cu Chi Tunnels; and Nha Be: A Thousand and One Nights, Hieu said.

She reiterated that the city was currently prioritizing exploitation of the night economy model apart from taking measures to make it a "cradle of MICE tourism.”

“Currently, the city has identified four main product groups that are seen as large revenue sources, including historical culture, conferences and exhibitions, tourism combined with cuisine, and tourism combined with shopping.

In promoting these products, the city will strive to fully exploit its advantages including waterway tourism and sleepless tourism associated with entertainment and the night economy," Hieu said.