Ho Chi Minh City has set a target of welcoming 6 million foreign visitors who will spend around 190 trillion VND (7.8 billion USD) next year, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.

Given stable political-economic conditions, and good recovery of tourism and related industries, the Vietnamese southern hub expects to welcome a tourist influx from the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, and China.

As of October, the city had served more than 4.1 million foreign visitors, accounting for 82% of the plan for this year. As the peak season for international approaches, it hopes to serve 5 million international tourists for the whole 2023.

According to large tour operators such as Saigontourist, Vietravel, and TST Tourist, tours to explore Ho Chi Minh City and inter-regional tours that connect the city with localities in its vicinity during year-end festivals are selling like hot cakes.

In early December, the tourism department will organise the third HCM City Tourism Week to stimulus both international and domestic tourism demand, and create an opportunity for travel firms to introduce their attractive offerings in 2024. The highlight of the week will be the 6th Techcombank HCM City International Marathon on December 8-10, which is expected to lure 14,000 foreign and domestic runners.

Director of the tourism Department Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said an array of products will be launched in the framework of the tourism week, including Nha Be night tour, healthcare and wellness tourism.

Besides, more lenient visa regulations and extended stays for foreigners are expected to bring more international tourists to the city in the peak season.

However, the department said that the visa approval process remains slow and time-consuming. Besides, Vietnam is currently providing visa exemption for only 25 countries, which is much smaller than that of regional countries such as Indonesia (169), the Philippines (166), Malaysia (156), and Singapore (150). It recommended the Immigration Department to shorten the time to handle visa applications for travel firms.

Furthermore, it will step up tourism promotion activities in foreign markets while renewing local tourism offerings to provide visitors with better experience./.