HCM CITY — HCM City Department of Tourism has launched the city’s first community-based tourism product on Thiềng Liềng Island in HCM City’s Cần Giờ District.

Visitors can explore the Cần Giờ Mangrove Biosphere Reserve and the beauty of peaceful unexplored corners on the island.

Visitors can also closely connect to the local community on the island and experience the local way of life.

The community-based tourism helps sustain local culture and preserve cultural heritage, according to Nguyễn Thị Ánh Hoa, director of the city’s Department of Tourism.

The unique features of mangrove forests, white salt fields and wetlands offer travellers unique experiences, Hoa said.

The tour to Thiềng Liềng Island in the coastal district of Cần Giờ is one of the new travel products that the city introduces to locals and foreign visitors during Tết (the Lunar New Year) holiday.

More than 50 travel products have been developed under the city’s initiative “Each district has at least one tourism product” and the city’s tourism promotion campaign “Welcome to HCM City” that have been implemented since the beginning of last year.

Thủ Đức City and 21 districts have all launched their unique travel products that are developed based on the tourism potential at each locality to diversify travel products in the city.

These new travel products offer visitors different corners in the city with many cultural and historic heritage sites as well as typical and unique local dishes to explore, Hoa said.

Visitors can explore the city in a half-day, one-day or two-day tours such as Sài Gòn - Di sản trăm năm (Sài Gòn - a hundred year heritage), Ký ức Sài Gòn Chợ Lớn (Sài Gòn Chợ Lớn memories), Quận 8 - Vùng đất của những câu chuyện (District 8 - Land of stories), Quận 11 - Có một chợ Lớn rất khác (District 11 - A different big market), Đến Quận 10 - Nghe kể chuyện Đông y (Visiting District 10 - Listening to stories of traditional medicine), Nhà Bè ngày mới (A new day in Nhà Bè District), Lái xe vespa khám phá quận 3 (Riding a vespa to explore District 3), and tours to visit Cần Giờ and Gò Vấp districts or Củ Chi and Gò Vấp districts.

Tours targeting the middle and high-income customer segments include helicopter rides over the city and cruises on the Sài Gòn River.

The Department of Tourism is implementing the programme “HCM City-100 interesting things” to create more interesting travel products and services to introduce to tourists.

Entertainment sites in the city also offer new products and services during the Tết holiday.

The Suối Tiên Theme Park has launched a mini zoo, a flower field and several farms such as a ship farm, a coconut farm and a grape farm to serve visitors during the Tết holiday.

The city welcomed more than 35,000 foreign visitors and 1.6 million domestic visitors during the New Year holiday, according to the city’s Department of Tourism. —VNS