HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism sector has undergone remarkable transformation during 2020–2025, driven by breakthrough ideas to enhance product quality, service standards, and destination branding.
These efforts have brought the city a series of prestigious international awards and positioned it as a host for global events such as the General Assembly of the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Global Cities (TPO) and the Business Partner Cities Roundtable. With its standing firmly established on the world tourism map, the city now has a strong foundation for its next phase of tourism development.
Building the “tourism city” brand
Tourism is identified as one of Ho Chi Minh City’s key economic pillars. To shape its brand as a “tourism city”, the local tourism sector has continuously restructured its offerings, creating new tours and routes while refreshing existing ones.
Between 2020 and 2025, the southern metropolis has stood out for organising a chain of distinctive tourism events that connect Vietnam’s tourism industry with international and regional markets. These include the Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo 2025 (ITE HCMC), the Ao Dai Festival, the River Festival, and the Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon.
The consistent and creative hosting of these annual events has elevated the city’s global profile, bringing its brand closer to international visitors.
A highlight came in 2024 when the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival won two gold awards at the 22nd International Business Awards (IBA 2025) in Portugal - part of the US-based Stevie Awards system – one of the world’s most prestigious business awards.
The festival earned Gold in the “Art, Entertainment & Public – Festival” category, while its opening show "The Legendary Voyage" also received Gold in the “Cultural Event” category. The double win marked a proud milestone for the city, underscoring its growing global presence and influence.
The city’s dynamic image was further reinforced when it won the TPO Best Marketing Award 2025 for its “Find Your Vibes” campaign at the 12th TPO General Assembly.
Beating out many major cities worldwide, this recognition affirmed Ho Chi Minh City’s creativity, marketing collaboration, and commitment to promoting itself as a modern and culturally rich metropolis on the global tourism map.
In addition, the successful co-hosting of four large international events — the TPO General Assembly 2025, ITE HCMC 2025, the Vietnam International Sourcing 2025, and the Ho Chi Minh City Export Forum 2025 — effectively created an international economic and tourism week. This initiative highlighted the city’s pioneering role in promoting sustainable economic and tourism development with deep integration into the region and the world.
The twin events TPO 2025 and ITE HCMC 2025 were expected to boost MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences & exhibitions) tourism while linking tourism with trade, logistics, and exports. They gathered 41 international ministry delegations, mayors from major cities, 256 international buyers from 32 countries and territories, over 30 leading global travel corporations, and representatives from all Vietnamese localities. With more than 20,050 business appointments and over 46,100 visitors, the events helped to expand international networks for the city and the country, promote Vietnam’s image, and encourage green and sustainable tourism growth.
Tran Phuong Linh, Marketing and IT Director of BenThanh Tourist, said that participating in regional and international events has enabled the company to introduce diverse green and sustainable travel products such as SUP paddling on the Saigon River and "A Peaceful Day in the Steel Land”. Designed for international travellers, these experiences combine the enjoyment of Vietnam’s landscapes and local culture.
Linh added that alongside traditional markets like Northern Europe, the company aims to expand into Eastern Europe and develop high-end segments linked with MICE, medical, and cultural tourism.
A leading Asian destination
Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said that the city’s role in hosting international tourism events goes beyond large-scale organisation. It is also about introducing new products and services, and showcasing a modern, friendly, and culturally distinctive metropolis to the world.
Through such events, the city collaborates with other localities to present Vietnam’s unique tourism offerings, policies, and sustainable development strategies, reflecting a spirit of openness and cooperation with the international community.International travel events held annually in HCM City also serve as critical opportunities for global businesses and investors to engage directly with Vietnam. Beyond attending exhibitions, many international participants also join forums and seminars to share insights and global tourism trends, helping elevate the country’s profile.
The city’s achievements have earned it a place among the world’s top cities for resident retention, ranking second globally — ahead of Singapore, Sydney and Berlin — according to the City Pulse 2025 report by the US-based Gensler Research Institute. This recognition shows that HCM City is not only a destination for work and travel but also a liveable and inspiring place to call home.
Looking ahead to 2025–2030, the city aims to become one of Asia’s leading destinations by diversifying high-quality, culturally rich products and developing tourism linked to international fairs and exhibitions.
Entering a new development phase following its administrative merger, it is reimagining its urban growth strategy with the vision of becoming a “global megacity of Southeast Asia” and one of the world’s top 100 liveable cities.Currently, the city boasts 808 tourism resources, 7,211 tourism enterprises, 9,540 tour guides, and 4,243 accommodation facilities — a strong foundation for building a renewed tourism development strategy.
Vo Anh Tai, Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Group, perceived that to make tourism a true economic spearhead and one of the main drivers of socio-economic development, the city needs a tourism strategy for 2025–2030 with a vision towards 2045. Saigontourist Group, he said, is ready to work with localities to develop products and build a tourism ecosystem to fully tap into connectivity potential and make breakthroughs.
“The city should position high-quality tourism and services as a strategic pillar by 2045, aiming to become a destination that is worth living in, worth visiting, worth remembering, and worth investing in. Tourism planning should be integrated into the overall urban plan to create a regional mega-city model that leverages inter-regional strengths and forms a complete tourism value chain,” Tai suggested.
As the city prepares for its first Party Congress, the 2025–2030 term, many tourism businesses have expressed hopes for new policies supporting tourism promotion, tax incentives for firms achieving green tourism certificates, and measures for investment attraction./.
