Factors attracting foreign tourists of Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

International tourism has become one of the largest and most vital economic sectors of the global economy driving huge flows of people, commodities, and capital. Tourism has been and continues to be an important foreign exchange earner to many countries in South East Asia and Vietnam is no exception. The aim of this article is to trace the factors for visiting Ho Chi Minh city, the largest and fastest growing city of Vietnam, image of Ho Chi Minh city as a tourism destination and competitiveness of Ho Chi Minh city as a tourism destination among foreign tourists to Ho Chi Minh city. A survey was used to obtain data randomly from 200 foreign tourists visiting Ho Chi Minh city. From the results, uniqueness and self-connection are extremely important for choosing Ho Chi Minh city as a foreign city for long-haul travel. Ho Chi Minh city is at the top of the list of top five city for long-haul travel in South East Asia. Hospitality in Ho Chi Minh city was better and excellent than many long-haul cities for tourists, followed by natural environment. From the overall implications of this study, it could be concluded that a strong relationship between government, tourism industry players, local authorities, private agencies and businesses should be fostered to ensure that tourists needs, especially foreign tourists, are fulfilled. It is a known fact that foreign tourists have a high taste. Therefore the various tourism industry players need to work hand in hand to improve all types of services provided to the foreign tourists.