![1804-pho-sai-gon.jpg](https://mediaen.vietnamplus.vn/images/4cee0ad12959b90c7ba270966fa526f15528cb546c5adfe69dc2765a00c8e0379b9382b3ff0f4f0ba4d75225848ae8c4/1804-pho-sai-gon.jpg "The "Pho” served to diners at the upscale Oriental Pearl restaurant in Landmark 81, Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)")
HCM City (VNA) – To diversify its tourism offerings for culinary enthusiasts, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism on October 22 introduced a series of new food-themed travel programmes.
The initiative marks an important step in the city’s goal to establish itself as a leading culinary destination in Vietnam and the region.
Developed by local travel enterprises, the culinary tourism programmes are designed around the city’s rich network of dining, shopping, and sightseeing venues. Alongside the 2025 culinary tourism development plan, the initiative aims to promote gastronomy as a core tourism product in line with the city’s tourism development strategy through 2030.
Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said the diversity and cultural richness of these culinary tours help reaffirm the city’s position as an international tourism hub and a must-visit destination on the global travel map.
She expressed her hope that the programmes will soon be widely introduced to domestic and international visitors, helping to build a vibrant and sustainable tourism ecosystem.
The culinary tourism programmes aim to showcase the city’s culture, history, and people through food, supporting local efforts to attract 10 million international visitors and earn 290 trillion VND (over 11 billion USD) in tourism revenue this year, Hieu added.
On this occasion, the HCM City Food and Beverage Association (FBA) and Binh Phu ward authorities announced plans to co-host the 2025 Green Food Festival, the city’s largest vegetarian food event to date. Scheduled for October 31 – November 4 at Binh Phu Park, the festival will celebrate Vietnam’s vegetarian cuisine and promote the message of “Live Green – Live Healthy”.
The event will follow a “Green Festival – Zero Waste” model, supported by the Vietnam Foodbank Network and the GreenHero Project, which will also co-organise a “Food Waste Recycling Day” to ensure a clean and sustainable festival environment.
As part of the 2025 Green Food Festival, the “Beloved Kitchen – 1,000 Free Meals” programme will promote community generosity. Visitors can also enjoy a wide range of activities, including vegetarian cooking shows, nutrition and green living talks, a Vietnamese vegetarian ingredient exhibition, an international vegetarian cuisine seminar, a green tourism and sustainable development forum, and cultural and musical performances.
Nguyen Tan Viet, FBA Chairman and head of the festival organising committee, said that following the success of the 2023 event, this year’s edition will serve as a key highlight of the city’s culinary calendar.
Bringing together hundreds of stalls from restaurants, chefs, culinary artisans, and well-known vegetarian brands, the festival will not only showcase the best of Vietnamese vegetarian cuisine but also encourage the community to embrace a greener and more eco-friendly lifestyle./.
