Vietnam rides the wave of river tourism

The second Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 will take place from 31 May to 9 June at the Nhà Rông-Khanh Hôi wharf, the Saigon cruise port and other tourist venues, with a wide range of cultural, culinary and entertainment activities.

Dragon-boat race during the first Ho Chi Minh City River Festival
(Photo: VNA/CVN)

This year’s festival is expected to make the southern megacity a leading river tourism destination. A flagship show entitled “The River Tells Stories”, the highlight of the festival, will recreate the history of the legendary boats associated with the locality.

The first River Festival took place in 2023. More than 6,000 spectators attended five spectacular performances recreating the cultural and economic activities and the ways of life of the river dwellers of Saigon – Cho Lon – Gia Dinh – Ho Chi Minh City some three centuries ago.

It was the first time that an art show had been presented on a stage built on the Saigon River, with a diverse combination of performance technologies and a harmonious blend of entertainment and historical elements.

According to Lê Hai Yên, general director of the art programmes for this year’s festival, nearly 1,000 professional and amateur artists will take part in the event. The outdoor performance space at the Nhà Rông – Khanh Hôi wharf – Saigon port will be transformed into a large film studio, promising to wow spectators.

The festival will tell stories about the special boats that sailed in and out of the Saigon River, associated with important milestones in the nation’s history.

Nguyên Thi Anh Hoa, director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said that the city’s tourism sector expects this year’s festival to continue attracting large numbers of domestic and foreign tourists, thereby contributing to the sector’s growth in the years to come.

The Hàn River in Dà Nang in the spotlight
At the same time, Dà Nang has undertaken landscaping on both sides of the Hàn River in order to boost the development of local tourism. The largest city in the Centre will rebuild the area into an urban centre with administrative and political offices, a financial centre and a gateway to river and coastal tourism. The area is also being upgraded to host national and international convention and conference centres.

Dà Nang is implementing a project worth nearly 400 billion dong (15.7 million USD) to illuminate the Hàn River with horizontal bridges. In 2024, the two banks of the river will host 55 periodic and annual cultural events and festivals organised by agencies, units and localities. The Hàn River, the “heart” of the city, is breathing fresh life into Dà Nang’s tourism.

The Hàn River, the “heart” of the city of Dà Nang (Centre)
(Photo: VNA/CVN)

Its neighbouring city of Huê is also organising river excursions by yacht. Tourists will have the chance to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the Huong (Perfume) River. The parks and open spaces along the banks have been redeveloped to encourage festive, recreational and sporting activities and fairs.

In the near future, Thua Thiên Huê province will invest in a number of new marinas to bring tourists to sites such as the royal arena (Hô Quyên), the Thuy Biêu community tourism village or the tomb of Khai Dinh.

In the North, Phu Tho province has worked with the provinces of Yên Bai and Lào Cai to develop tourism products along the Red River, linking the cultural values of the three provinces in order to offer tourists many attractive tour programmes.

Attracting international tourists to historical relic sites and cultural heritage also generates income for the local population and helps motivate people to maintain and develop traditional crafts and to promote the value of cultural heritage.

Source: VNA/CVN