Ambitious “HCM City – 100 interesting things”

To promote “HCM City – 100 interesting things” programme as a regional event and to attract foreign visitors to the city, the local tourism sector has called for the cooperation of tourism service providers and tourists.
The programme’s organizing board, which includes officials from the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Tourism Association and the Vinam Media Company, recently told the media that the programme will be kicked off in late August and last until the end of December.
Based on the opinions of domestic and foreign tourists, the organizing board will choose 100 interesting things about HCM City and advertise them on the media. Specifically, the board will select the top ten impressive hotels, the top ten Vietnamese restaurants, the top ten carriers, the top ten Vietnamese cuisines, the top ten Vietnamese specialties, the top ten destinations, the top ten shopping sites, the top ten tours, the top ten entertainment sites and the top ten outstanding events.
La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that it will be difficult for the city to obtain its goals this year, due to many objective reasons, for instance the global economic crisis and A/H1N1 outbreak.
“HCM City – 100 interesting things” is considered an experimental “game” but the city is ambitious to turn it into a professional and international campaign.
The total funding for this programme is 2.7 billion dong (US$150,000), extracted from the fund for tourism promotion and HCM City’s budget.
Up to two thirds of the total funding will pay for advertising activities. The programme will be advertised at 40 big TV screens placed in the Tan Son Nhat International Airport and tourist destinations in HCM City, on posters, pamphlets, websites, books, DVDs and especially USB-sticks.
Khanh said around 2000 USB-sticks of four gigabyte containing information about HCM City and HCM City tourism will be sent to 1000 foreign travel agencies around the world.
A number of USB-sticks will be presented to 150 foreign travel agents participating in the International Tourism Exhibition of 2009 in HCM City this September.
The HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed a contract with Vietnam Airlines so that the Airline will advertise HCM City tourism on its international flights.
Madam Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee and an advisor to the “HCM City – 100 interesting things”-campaign, said that this event is a break-through but the organizing board should always think forward and update some of the interesting things when they are no longer suitable.
Ninh also urged HCM City to campaign its people to build a good tourism environment. “Foreign tourists travel to HCM City to enjoy the sights, but they will leave the city if the tourism environment is poor,” Ninh said.