HCMC seeks to “package” its life essence onto digital space

Ho Chi Minh City possesses a rich “repository of life experiences,” yet it faces a major hurdle: a high influx of tourists but a remarkably low return rate.

This insight was highlighted at the talk show “HCMC, Where Every Life Experience Can Become a Tourism Product,” held on the afternoon of April 4 during the HCMC Tourism Festival 2026.

According to the speakers, while top regional destinations like Thailand or Japan enjoy tourist return rates of up to 60%, Vietnam’s figure remains below 20%. This disconnect stems not only from local lifestyle facets—such as cuisine—existing merely as fragmented “rough gems,” but also from a significant technological divide.

Sharing from his practical experience as a content creator for the Cholon Downtown channel, Quang My Thien noted that the experiences tourists truly seek often lie within the daily lives of locals rather than familiar sightseeing spots.

From a technological and ecosystem-building standpoint, Mr. Nguyen Tien Huy, CEO of Localis.vn (a cultural marketing and tourism communications firm under Pencil Group), stated that the core issue facing HCMC tourism is not a lack of experiences, but rather the absence of effective “storytelling” and “packaging.”

Without a digital platform, these experiences will remain fragmented. Conversely, an “all-in-one” ecosystem allows travelers to discover, book, pay, and personalize their journeys seamlessly.

This drove the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center and Localis to sign a strategic partnership to develop the visithcmc.vn portal directly at the event. According to Mr. Huy, Localis will contribute its technology platform and operational team to transform visithcmc.vn from a basic informational website into a “living ecosystem” that constantly updates the city’s stories, experiences, and people.

In the long term, this platform aims to transcend information delivery, acting as a hub to connect tourism products—especially those tapping into indigenous cultural values. Looking further ahead, transactional functions could be integrated to form a fully comprehensive digital tourism ecosystem.

Ms. Nguyen Cam Tu, Director of the HCMC Tourism Promotion Center, affirmed that the collaboration to develop visithcmc.vn goes beyond building a website; it is about forging a connecting platform—a helpful, accessible, and user-friendly information channel that elevates the tourist experience.

She emphasized that this is a strategic step for the city’s tourism sector to transform dynamically in the digital era, helping project HCMC’s image as ‘open, youthful, vibrant, exciting, and future-oriented’ to the international community.

Read the full article at: https://www.phunuonline.com.vn/tphcm-tim-cach-dong-goi-chat-song-len-khong-gian-so-a1579186.html