Ho Chi Minh City has never lacked energy. Its markets bustle, its river stays busy, and its food scene can fill a week. Now tourism chiefs want more people to stay longer, spend more and explore beyond the usual sights.
Their plan is called “Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City – Vibrant Everywhere, Everyone”. It brings food, history, health, business events and river trips under one banner. The goal is to give visitors more reasons to see the city, and more ways to enjoy it.
The scheme first launched locally on 14 October 2026. A new media release took the pitch to a wider global audience on 5 November. That matters: this is a campaign now underway, not a future promise.
Five reasons to stay longer
The campaign has five key themes. They are food; health and wellness; culture, heritage and craft villages; meetings and business events (MICE); and river, coast, island and nature trips.
For travel advisers, that makes for a richer sales pitch than one more skyline photo. Food fans can tour markets and sample local dishes. History lovers can add craft villages and heritage sites. Other guests can take a river trip or spend more time by the coast.
The city’s wider tourism map now includes Vung Tau and Con Dao as well as its busy urban heart. That gives advisers more choice. But the test will be how well local firms turn these themes into easy, rewarding trips.
A city tour with a digital twist
The official Discover HCMC website gives travellers maps, ideas, and help planning a trip. Its “360-degree” check-in journey adds an extra nudge to get out and explore.
At each listed stop, guests scan a QR code, confirm where they are and log their visit. The official website says the first stage runs for 10 weeks from 16 October and covers 50 check-in sites. Guests who meet the rules can earn points for a chance to claim food and travel vouchers. Offers are limited, so terms matter.
Part city tour, part treasure hunt. More to the point, it can send people to local shops, sights and tour firms that might not be on a standard itinerary.
Big numbers raise the stakes
A sound business case backs the bright new branding. The Vietnam News Agency reports that Ho Chi Minh City drew more than 8.5 million overseas visitors in the first nine months of 2026. It also welcomed nearly 40 million domestic visitors. Tourism revenue topped VND280 trillion.
The city’s goals for all of 2026 are 11 million overseas visitors, 50 million domestic visitors and VND330 trillion in tourism revenue. These are official targets, not final results.
The push also gives artists, reporters and online creators a role in sharing real travel stories. Contests for food videos, tourism start-ups and souvenir designs aim to spark new ideas. The Ho Chi Minh City Vibrant Award 2026 is due to honour tourism leaders in January 2027.
For Australian travel advisers, the message is simple. Sell Ho Chi Minh City as more than a stopover. Match each trip to the client’s tastes. And check the latest deals on the official site before making a promise.
This city has long known how to make an entrance. Now it wants visitors to stay for the second act.
By: Christine Nguyen – © 2026.
Read Time: 3 minutes.
Author Bio:
Christine’s story is one of quiet courage, told without fuss and lived with remarkable grace. She arrived in Australia as a young refugee from Vietnam, carrying little more than hope, family, and a curiosity that refused to be extinguished. Sydney became home, built patiently, brick by careful brick.
She studied Tourism at TAFE and soon found her place in inbound travel, working with one of the city’s leading destination companies. Christine loved showing visitors the Australia that lives beyond postcards, warmer, truer, and far more interesting.
When the sea began to whisper, and life asked for a gentler rhythm, she listened. Designing brochures, writing blogs, she discovered storytelling waiting quietly inside her.
Today, at EGT Media, Christine writes with warmth and wisdom, reminding us, softly and persuasively, why travel still matters.
