HCM CITY — The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched yesterday a campaign that seeks to identify 100 "exciting things" about HCM City by opening up several categories for people, locals and foreigners, to vote on.

The HCM City: 100 Exciting Things campaign aims to recognise and promote the city's outstanding cultural values and prominent tourism products and services.

The campaign is being launched after six months of preparations that included consulting with experts in many fields including travel, culture, history and cuisine. Its advisory board gathered and short-listed 218 "candidates" that people will vote on to decide the final list of 100 things.

The "candidates" are categorised under 20 groups, which include luxury hotels, business hotels, tourist restaurants, exhibition-conference centres, travel tours, tourism events, health and beauty care, by-night entertainment locations, sightseeing locations, artistic, cultural and historic vestiges, transport companies, art performance locations, Southern delicacies, varieties of fruit, architecture, museums, markets, coffee shops, shopping centres and souvenir products.

Local and international tourists can vote on these "things" between June 14 and July 30 at www.excitinghochiminhcity.vn, www.saigon100dieuthuvi.vn, www.nhungdieuthuvitphcm.com, and dulich.nld.com.vn.

Besides the online voting, 2,500 ballot papers for each category will be sent to experts in the mail, and distributed to tourists via travel companies.